Cast in Shadow
by Jedi Jesi Jiin
Summary: Peace has settled upon the galaxy after Palpatine's defeat at the hands of Anakin and the Jedi Order. But though there have been good times, there are still those who hate the Skywalkers. One of these holds a grudge, and will stop at nothing to exact sweet revenge against Anakin and Padmé. Alternate Universe story.
1. Prologue

**Cast in Shadow**

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 _ **A/N1:**_ **Major AU story!**

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 _ **A/N2:**_ _I do not own Star Wars._

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 **Anakin Skywalker has defeated Chancellor Palpatine— now known to be Darth Sidious— his turn to the Dark Side merely a ruse concocted by the Jedi to fool Palpatine. And it worked.**

 **Now, after the birth of their beloved twins, Padmé and Anakin couldn't be more contented. However, not everyone is pleased with the happy couple.**

 **Palpatine defeated or not, the Skywalkers still have enemies, some of them carrying grudges they refuse to let go of. The most dangerous ones are those who have waited patiently in the shadows, the moment to strike imminent.**

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 **Prologue:**

"You know what must be done?"

Aurra Sing lifted a brow. "Of course. I have everything I need, except your go ahead."

She eyed the man before her, seated behind his desk with one hand fingering his black rounded beard. The facial hair circled the mouth elegantly with a small puff following the vertical center of his chin to the bottom of his lower lip. The man's green eyes stared down his rounded nose and she wondered what they were seeing as they were obviously not focused on the datapad there.

"The serum is ready at last, after a year of science and testing," her current employer mused as if to himself. "Finally we can make this happen."

Aurra suppressed her annoyance, having learned long ago not to question any oddities her clients may possess. If they paid well, she could overlook a few faults. And this man _did_ pay well, very well indeed.

In fact, he paid enough for her to even _consider_ this job; one that many others would shrink away from.

Finally Hazael Kedar met Aurra's gaze. "Do it. You know where to rendezvous. You will receive the other half of the agreed amount once I have my prize... and complete anonymity. This won't work without it."

"I understand," Aurra replied, bowing her head and leaving his office.

The man watched her go and then turned in his opulent chair to gaze out at the nightscape of Coruscant. Lanes of traffic went about their merry way as usual, completely unaffected by events that had transpired only twelve months earlier. The billions of citizens that made up the population of the city-planet didn't usually care who was in charge so long as their way of life wasn't disturbed too much.

Hazael figured they might have actually batted an eye had Palpatine succeeded in his grand scheme to make an Empire. Kedar wouldn't have minded a few less Jedi in the galaxy, and secretly wished the old man had won the Clone Wars.

But alas, the Jedi had— to the surprise of all, Hazael had to grudgingly admit— managed to one-up the Sith Master. Their Chosen One had supposedly gone Dark, and yet it had all been a faux, a game of dejarik. Anakin Skywalker had played the part of the willing servant to the Sith Master but in the end the raid on the Jedi Temple had been a deception also so the Jedi scum could get closer to Palpatine.

As for the clones ordered to kill the Jedi, somehow it had been discovered that the clones had chips implanted— something about the rogue clone's information being anonymously given to the Jedi Council.

No one knew where that information had come from, but it had to have been someone who had once had high ranking in the Separatist army with access to such information. Either way the Jedi had still lost many in that event, but overall they had been prepared once the order was given. The rest of the past year had been spent removing the chips from the clones so they could go on serving the Republic.

Hazael's mind wandered onto the more personal side of things: the Skywalker family. The two children born to Padmé Naberrie and Anakin Skywalker were doing well: were healthy and happy in their lives.

He sneered to the window. He hated the entire family, but mostly the adults. How dare they be so happy: uncaring of those they had wronged in the past. And how they had wronged _him_... and he _would_ have his revenge.

With a devilish smirk, Hazael rose from his chair and made his way to his personal yacht, the _Sandcastle_ , named partly in jest to his new... career. It was a luxury yacht, and he made frequent trips to desert worlds, such as Tatooine and Jakku.

Hazael boarded his ship and began the start up sequence, also putting in a request for departure. It took a few minutes, but a slot opened for him and Hazael took it gladly, lifting his ship from the deck.

 **00000**

Padmé Naberrie Skywalker leaned over and tickled her son's belly, causing him to chortle with laughter, his little cheeks pink with joy. One year old Luke Skywalker squirmed under her attacking fingertips, trying to get away even as he laughed.

Leia Skywalker, not one to be left out, waddled over on her stubby legs and pounced on her mother, trying to help her brother.

"Ma!" the little girl called, and then she pointed to her twin while trying to tug Padmé off of him. "Luuke!"

Padmé loved hearing Leia trying to say her brother's name, and they way her little mouth dragged out the middle syllable. It brought a grin to her face every time.

Smirking, Padmé turned on Leia instead, abandoning Luke's rounded belly and instead tickling Leia's sides. The toddler shrieked in surprise and tried to get away, but Padmé grabbed her up and swung the girl around.

Leia giggled while Luke protested jealously. "Turn!" he demanded, his little arms lifting expectantly. He was always ready to be flown about like a starfighter, something Anakin excelled at with the twins. Padmé wasn't as good at it as her husband, but her children didn't seem to mind.

The thought of her absent husband brought a momentary pang to Padmé's heart, but she pushed it aside. Anakin was on a short mission for the Jedi Order, and should be home by tomorrow.

When Leia began to tire of being gently flown about, Padmé set her daughter down and obliged Luke's request to have his turn. She made sure to make the noises of a ship as Luke squealed and flapped his arms in absolute bliss.

Padmé laughed at his antics and flew him until her arms grew tired. She looked at the chrono, and then turned to her twins, who were starting to yawn by this point.

"Alright you two, time for bed." Padmé maintained her hold on Luke and then carefully lifted Leia up also.

Luke snuggled willingly into his mother's shoulder, his eyes already drooping, though Leia protested somewhat. Padmé settled the pair into their respective cribs and then lowered the lights to something soothing so the children could sleep easier.

By then Luke was already fading, his breathing evening out and his little mouth parted just-so. Leia squirmed, though, and Padmé leaned over the bars of her crib.

"Hush now, Leia, it's time for sleep," Padmé murmured, caressing the baby's head. Leia looked to Padmé with big brown eyes and the adult Skywalker thought she saw a hint of fear there.

"What's the matter, Leia, hmm?" Padmé asked, not really expecting an answer.

Leia babbled at her, but not much of it made sense as the twins were still learning their vocabulary skills. But Padmé listened anyway, wanting her daughter to know that what she had to say was important to her mother.

Padmé wondered if the girl just wanted Anakin. The twins were always a little fidgety at night when their father was absent, almost as though they needed his Force presence to feel truly safe when sleeping.

"It will be alright, Princess," Padmé soothed gently, urging Leia to sleep. "Daddy will be home tomorrow, remember? We want to be well rested so we can go meet him when his ship comes in, don't we?"

Leia's eyes lit up and she cooed excitedly, causing Padmé to chuckle softly. "That's right. You and Luke can pounce on Daddy as soon as you see him. But first, sleep."

Leia closed her eyes slowly while Padmé stroked the little girl's soft chocolate hair. Once the child was slumbering Padmé straightened. She planted a feather-light kiss on Leia's forehead and then checked on her brother, who was deeply asleep now.

Padmé kissed Luke's head, gazing at her sweet, loving son for a few moments and drinking in the sight of him.

She was blessed to have her children at all, let alone a complete family. Padmé recalled the day Anakin had defeated Palpatine, and the ones leading up to that where Padmé had truly feared that her husband had turned to the Sith way of life.

Anakin had explained after Palpatine's death how they had to make his false turning as believable as possible, and only the ones involved in the con could know of the details until Palpatine was no longer a threat.

She was ever grateful for her family: her _complete_ family, and she couldn't imagine not having them all with her. Padmé left the room, casting a final glance at her babies before shutting the door.

As she prepared herself for bed, the stray thought crossed her mind of whether or not she and Anakin would have any other children. She was happy with her family as it was, yes, but Padmé wasn't opposed to expanding it.

 _I suppose we will just see what happens,_ Padmé thought as she sat at her desk and read a few reports while she had the chance. She would sleep later.

 **00000**

Aurra breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the lights _finally_ went out in the Skywalker home. She'd wondered if Padmé would ever go to sleep, or if the Senator would stay up till dawn reading reports.

Aurra waited long enough to make sure everyone in the household was very much in dreamland before she approached the house in her covered speeder. She used her specialized datapad to gain entry to the house, and when the door opened she grinned. Moving back to her seeder, Aurra removed a cloth sack and slung it over her shoulder.

Entering the abode, Aurra walked with sure steps, knowing exactly how much time she had until the first patrol of Padmé's private security was due to sweep the area. She had scoped the place for days and knew the security well enough to know when it was safe to move. If Anakin were here, Aurra wouldn't have touched the place, but with the Jedi gone— and his wife as Force-blind as Aurra— the timing was perfect.

Aurra silently opened the door to the nursery, checked that the coast was clear, and walked up to the crib containing the male child. He was sleeping on his stomach, head turned toward the door as his blond hair fell into his eyes. Aurra guessed he would be cute if she were interested in kids at all.

Aurra set her bag down, checked her chrono and pulled out a previously prepared syringe. Without hesitation she injected the boy with it, and before he could cry the sedative went to work. The sedative was also laced with Kedar's serum, which was supposed to both suppress the child's connection to the Force and all but cancel his presence in it, or something to that effect. Aurra didn't claim to understand that part, but then again she wasn't being paid to understand.

Aurra had no access to the Jedi power, so she had no way to verify if that part of the serum worked. Hazael had assured her it would, so she decided to hold the man to his word.

Once the baby was unconscious, Aurra lifted him from his crib and set him on the floor. Picking up her sack, Aurra removed the clone baby from within and settled the lifeless body in the same position the host had been in.

Aurra surveyed her work and, satisfied, she placed the live child in the bag and hefted him onto her shoulder. She froze when a noise sounded in the hall.

Grimacing, Aurra slunk into the shadows behind the door as it opened. She held perfectly still as a small beam of light fell upon the beds, and a metallic voice could be heard from the Skywalker's protocol droid.

"Everything seems to be okay in here, but I thought I heard something." See-Threepio tottered off, muttering about needing his systems updated.

Aurra rolled her eyes. The droid needed far more than an update in her opinion, but she waited until the prissy golden thing was good and gone before she hustled back outside. She placed her cargo in the back seat and then made sure to relock the door she had come through. Next she entered her speeder, smiling in satisfaction.

Half an hour after the kidnapping, Aurra was in her ship, sealing the baby inside a cell where he'd be secure and silent.

Without qualms Aurra booked passage off-world— an easier task in the middle of the night— and was granted permission soon after.

 **00000**

Daylight streamed brightly through the windows, creating prisms on the walls in some places, when a scream rent the apartment.

" _NOOO!_ "

Captain Panaka, head of Padmé's personal security detail on Coruscant, rushed in the front door. He'd just been coming to check on the Senator when he heard her shriek. The sound was followed by heart-rending sobs that only made him move faster.

When he barreled inside the door to the nursery, it was to find Padmé just pulling her son from his crib. She clutched the baby to her heart as though he was a precious piece of porcelain, her face ashen as tears swept from her eyes in a torrent.

Leia was also crying, though the captain supposed the baby was just feeding off of her mother's anguish.

Confused as to what was happening, Panaka approached Padmé. "Milady, what's the matter?"

Padmé jerked her head up, startled. "Captain..." Padmé sobbed. "Get the Jedi Temple on the line, and have them contact Anakin immediately!"

Panaka already had his comlink in hand, though he paused. "What about Milady?"

Padmé hiccupped a heart-broken sob and revealed her son. Panaka frowned, not sure what she was trying to show him... and then he _did_ see. He noted for the first time the limp state of the child, and how his chest failed to rise and fall. Nor did his skin look healthy and pink anymore. No... it had taken on a grayish hue that was only possible when one was no longer breathing.

"Milady," Panaka breathed, not knowing what to say to ease her pain.

"Please just make the call, Captain," Padmé whispered.

"At once," he murmured, turning to do so.

His heart cracked to hear Padmé whisper to her dead child. "Oh Luke..."

 **00000**

Anakin Skywalker's heart raced as fast as his feet as he sped along the hospital corridors, Obi Wan barely able to keep up as the younger man sprinted madly. Anakin had just landed and been told the news by Master Yoda, who had taken a call from Captain Panaka.

"Padmé?!" Anakin cried as he flung the door open to the room he'd been directed to.

"Ani!" Padmé flung herself into his arms, weeping heavily.

Anakin held her tightly for a moment, but then his eyes lifted, searching desperately for... his heart stopped when blue eyes rested upon the unmoving form of his son in the bed. He didn't care that the bed was far too large for the baby's small body, nor did he care that Obi Wan had finally reached the room as well.

Anakin silently passed Padmé over to his best friend and walked in a haze to where Luke's body lay. The child's pure blue eyes didn't spring open at his approach, nor did his innocent smile light up his small face as only Luke's could. He didn't babble a sweet hello to his father, and Anakin collapsed to his knees.

One shaky hand reached out to touch the cold face, and Anakin instinctively touched the boy with the Force. But there was nothing to touch, and nothing reached back to him. His boy was gone... but something, somewhere in his soul refused to believe it.

Anakin stood back up and spun around. "This can't be real!"

Padmé broke away from Obi Wan, her face grief-stricken. "Anakin, he's been looked at by three doctors and one Jedi Healer... he's g-gone."

Anakin shook his head adamantly, in denial even as his eyes spilled over. "No! He... he can't be gone!"

Padmé looked away, closing her eyes. "The doctors say there was... a rupture in his brain. It happened during the night... there was nothing to be done."

"Have him looked at again!" Anakin growled, desperate.

"Anakin..." Padmé whimpered, and his lower lip trembled heavily as he fought for a modicum of control.

At his wife's expression, Anakin let out a strangled noise and turned back around, bracing himself over Luke's lifeless form while his chest worked unsteadily. Luke couldn't be gone... he just couldn't...

Slender arms encircled him from the side, and Anakin recognized them as Padmé's. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ani... what do we do?" she asked in a broken whisper.

Anakin's meager control shattered then and he shook his head, turning to crush his wife to him. "I don't know!" he spluttered, his shoulders shaking with great sobs. "I just don't know!"

Obi Wan looked away, unable to intrude even as he wept silently. Luke had been a sweet boy, dear to even Obi Wan's heart. Obi Wan had been introduced to the twins as Uncle Obi Wan, and he'd loved them instantly as an uncle would.

He would have to be strong for his friend and brother, especially now. But at the moment, Obi Wan needed to let Luke's parents grieve.

 **00000**

Aurra Sing landed her ship in the sands, cursing the fact that her client had chosen this dust ball of all places to meet. She hated sand, but she supposed this was as good a place as any to lie low for a while.

Few would think to look on Tatooine, and even fewer would care that there was an eccentric man living there in luxury. She wondered how he'd managed to build himself such a nice place to live without Jabba breathing down his neck, but that was Hazael's problem, not hers.

She was only to deliver the runt.

Thankfully it was night, so few were awake to witness the bounty hunter's arrival. Aurra exited her ship and walked to where her client lived. There was a security camera at the front door and she looked expectantly into the lens.

Seconds later the door hissed open and Aurra strode inside. She ignored the fine interior complete with a cleaning droid and walked to where Hazael waited in the sitting area.

"You have what I require?" Hazael asked, and she admired the man's obvious control. He had to be eager, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. The man had the perfect sabacc face.

"I do." Aurra set the bag down and opened it. Hazael reached within and checked for life. With a sinister chuckle he straightened.

"And you got away clean?" he demanded.

"Yes."

He studied her a moment, and then nodded. "Excellent work." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a credit chip. "As agreed, the rest of your payment."

Aurra took the chip and placed it in her datapad, verifying that the funds were actually there. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

With that she took her leave.

Once the bounty hunter had gone, Hazael lifted the child from the bag fully and gazed at his unconscious face.

"You are mine now, you little runt." He growled. "And your parents will never know the truth. Suits them right, after what they did to me. They took away my life, my happy ending... well now I have taken theirs."

He lifted his head and snapped his fingers. "Slave!"

A woman in rags appeared, one he had bought from Jabba the Hutt to act as the boy's caretaker until he was self sufficient enough for his master's taste.

"Yes Master?" she whispered, head bowed.

Hazael handed her the unconscious child. "Your job is to make sure this boy stays alive, understand? If he dies, so do you... in the most painful way possible."

She trembled, looking down at the toddler. "B-but Sir, I haven't any experience with children, let alone a baby!"

"You will learn." Hazael dismissed, waving her away. "Now get out of my sight."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

A loud clang on the hidden doorway to his room woke him, and seconds later the lights blared to full life, blinding him as always.

"Get up!" A harsh male voice snapped over the intercom, and the child rose into a sitting position dutifully, rubbing wearily at his cerulean eyes to remove the last vestiges of sleep.

A clinking sounded as the chains attached to his collar moved with him, and he waited in silence for his owner to release him from the fetters, if not the collar. The collar never came off, and the boy hated it with a passion; was humiliated by it, and yet was powerless to do anything to change his circumstances.

His eyes followed the length of chain that attached to a bolt in the wall. He had enough leeway to move about his room, which wasn't a room at all but a prison cell. He had a cot with a filthy, ratty mattress and a thin, torn blanket. His pillow was a collection of dirty rags and his refresher consisted of a toilet and a sink. There was no way to bathe...

Ten year old Luke Skywalker shuddered in terror at the thought of when his next bath would be, and prayed it wasn't today.

He knew his name, but he didn't dare ask to be called by it. His owner and master would call him whatever he so wished, and Luke would accept it. Better that than the painful alternative.

Luke managed to calm himself down, and he figured he had enough time to relieve himself before his master entered the room. Luke did so with difficulty, hobbling over and ignoring his foot the best he could. When done the child washed his hands with the sliver of soap bar that was all he had left of his once plentiful bar.

He didn't know when his master would see fit to replace it, and Luke was forbidden to ask for anything that didn't strictly relate to the task he had been given. He wasn't allowed to speak at all unless given express permission to do so, with a single exception.

Luke had learned early on to bend to his master's will and whim, and to do so immediately and without complaint. Failure to comply ended in brutal beatings or any other form of punishment his master deemed worthy of the 'crime'.

Luke sat back down on his bed, staring at his dirty, pallid skin and the loincloth that was his only clothing. Scars littered his malnourished body like spots on a Nabooian bursa, plentiful evidence of the boy's treatment at the hands of his cruel, sadistic master.

The latest bruises still shown in vivid contrast to the rest of his skin, their deep purple and sickly green color having spread overnight to cover vastly more area than the evening before. Luke maneuvered his shoulder gingerly, testing the overall mobility. He was stiff, but able to use his limb enough to perform his chores.

He heard the telltale shifting of the bookcase that hid his cell door from view and then there was a slight beeping as his master input the code to enter. The door hissed open with an ominous air, and in strode Luke's master.

"Good morning, Master," Luke whispered the single mandatory pleasantry, though the sound was hoarse on his little-used voice.

Hazael ignored the boy as he brandished a syringe filled with a viscous green fluid. Luke held still while the man injected it into Luke's neck, though it burned as it entered Luke's bloodstream. Luke shivered against the pain before he settled down as the serum did. Luke didn't know what the drug did, but his master administered the thing every single morning without fail.

His master waited until the serum had the chance to fully enter Luke's body before he unlocked the chain from Luke's collar, letting the end fall to the floor with a metallic _shhiiink_. "Get your chores done, Runt."

Luke bowed his head and slunk away, trying and failing to ignore his limp. His bad foot had still not healed from being broken by one of Hazael's more violent outbursts five days earlier.

But nor would the injury excuse him from working, no matter how bad it got. Luke went to the cleaning closet and grabbed his supplies he'd need to clean Hazael's house top to bottom as he did every single morning. Luke didn't get to eat until the job was completely done, and if Hazael didn't like the work the child did, then Luke didn't get to eat at all.

Luke was always hungry, his stomach growling despite his efforts to ignore it. He was well aware of how dangerously thin he was, especially for someone of his age. The child was only given the barest amount of food to keep him alive, and that was all. At least he could drink from his sink.

Luke realized his mind had wandered when a large hand hit him on the back of the head.

"Stop daydreaming and get to work!" Hazael snapped angrily. "And you had better have this place cleaned in two hours or you go hungry for another two days. I have company coming over, and I won't have this place looking dirty."

Luke nodded avidly, though his heart plummeted when the man's words registered, and with it his stomach. Two hours to clean the entire house? Hazael was fully aware the job took Luke all morning, and in fact, it was rarely earlier than high noon when Luke _did_ complete the task on a good day...

Luke bit back his tears, refusing to cry and let his master punish him for that too today.

With no hope of any kind, Luke went about his task as swiftly as he was able, knowing he would fail and that despite his efforts to avoid it, a punishment awaited him at the end of his allotted two hours.

 **00000**

Hazael eyed the boy as he performed his daily routine of cleaning the house so that it was always immaculate. Hazael expected and accepted nothing less, and the boy knew that full well.

However, even Hazael had to admit he would need to have a medic tend to the boy's foot. If the stupid boy couldn't walk, then he was useless, and Hazael refused to let the slave die. Hazael made the call to his preferred medic, a man who did the job without asking questions for a generous tip, and once that was done he put his comlink away.

Hazael then checked his chrono and pursed his lips. He still had time to kill before his guests arrived, and he knew just how he wanted to spend it.

Returning to his room, he unlocked another hidden door and gestured the slave woman within to exit. She whimpered, knowing he only let her out for one thing, but complied because he would beat her if she didn't.

This slave he fed well since she had to be strong and supple enough to actually be enjoyable to him. She was different from the former slave woman he'd had, the one who'd taken care of the boy. The first woman had been enjoyable in her own way, but this new girl was younger, and her body was much more agreeable to his tastes.

That first woman he had killed when the boy was eight, though the female slave had been useful in many ways. Her death had been another lesson from owner to slave boy, one the kid had never forgotten. Hazael couldn't recall her name, and he didn't care to.

The new slave woman now lay on Hazael's bed, her skimpy clothing enhancing her figure as he liked it to. Hazael prepared himself and then joined her in the bed.

"Now, let's have some fun, shall we?" he purred, helping himself to her.

 **00000**

Thew Meckley adjusted his tunic, making sure his crisp attire looked well enough for his employer. His dark blue top had russet accents while his black pants fitted into knee-length boots of the same color.

The Balosar's antennapalps protruded from his head of brown hair, and he had even combed it out so he appeared neat and orderly as his boss required. Either way the humanoid man knew he looked as good as he felt.

Behind him was a younger adult male who wanted to climb the ranks of importance, a nineteen year old Kaleesh who's chin horns hadn't grown fully quite yet.

"Keep the gear ready, Fias," Thew instructed, noticing that the crate that held Hazael's required items was on the ground.

Fias Terallo nodded briskly and lifted the box from the sands, making sure to wipe it clean the best he could before the front door opened. The slave child Hazael kept bowed silently and stepped aside to let them enter.

Thew paid him no mind, brushing past the human child as if the runt wasn't there. Fias, however, looked at the boy. The red-skinned reptoid noted the fresh blood on the kid's face surrounding a black eye and when the boy shifted, Fias saw that there were angry red marks upon his back too, also seeping crimson fluids. Having endured lashings in his own violent youth— his people were both spiritual and war-lusting— Fias could understand the child's pain.

The Kaleesh noted the slave kept his gaze averted, and when Fias abruptly realized he'd fallen behind the young adult snapped his attention where it belonged. He swiftly caught up to Thew, who threw him a warning scowl.

"Good day, Hazael," Thew greeted the human male as he approached the couch on which their employer lounged, a cigar in hand.

Thew bowed his head to Hazael, and Fias did likewise.

"Gentlemen," Hazael welcomed, gesturing for the pair to sit down across from them. Then he raised his voice. "Hey Worthless, bring refreshments!"

Thew heard the scuffle of feet as the slave child obeyed, and then Hazael leaned forward. "How has production been this week?"

"Rather good actually," Thew replied proudly. "We struck another load of ore yesterday and as we speak our... _employees_ are mining it. Also, the gems have been elusive, but we believe we've located a possible new trail in the stone. Hopefully soon we will find the next load of them."

"Excellent," Hazael purred. "And the... side job?"

Thew grinned maliciously and withdrew a pouch from an inner pocket. He laid it upon the table between the couch and the seat he was on and slowly unrolled it to reveal a variety of thin sticks within.

"We have perfected our latest strains of spice, and have even begun testing new death stick formulas." He showed Hazael several different colored sticks of spice crystals and four separate varieties of death sticks.

Hazael nodded. "Fine work as always Thew. And the Jawas haven't given you any more trouble of late?"

"No, not since we have their women and children held under our control. If the males resist the women die, leaving the kids to fend for themselves." Thew reported without missing a beat.

At that moment the slave child appeared and carefully placed a tray on the table before he bowed low and left. Hazael stared after the child for a time before he retrieved the bottle of whiskey from the serving dish and poured himself and the two across from him a drink.

Once they all had a glass, Hazael lifted his. "To high production rates."

"Hear, hear!" Thew cheered, _clinking_ his glass against his employers.

Fias hesitated. "Sir, if I may ask..."

Thew turned a warning glare on his subordinate, but Hazael leaned back again. "By all means."

"Are you sure it's wise to continue using the Jawas and Sand People as slaves in these mines of yours?" Fias asked carefully. "What if someone notices the lack of these nomads in the areas they're usually in?"

Hazael chuckled darkly. "Trust me my young friend; no one will miss the Sand People. Every Tatooinian hates them, and as for the Jawas, what were they good for except recycling scrap metal? Well, now they get to mine metal, so they should be grateful." Hazael took a puff from his cigar. "My company makes its name by trying to help the Sand People and Jawas become better acquainted with society. However, it's just a cover. We are conning the galaxy unto believing that we're trying to help these people, and while the rest of the galaxy laughs at us, we're striking it rich right under their noses."

Fias tilted his head. "And what about the gems?"

Hazel's eyes narrowed. "What about them?"

"What will we do with them? How will we explain their sudden appearance?" Fias inquired.

"We will tell them half truths," Hazael replied.

When Hazael had come to Tatooine initially, he had wondered how he was going to maintain his funds, his work. Then, on a chance encounter with a group of Jawas, he had stumbled upon an item of theirs that was made of a metal he had never seen before.

It was shiny when worked, and had the same qualities as gold and silver, but it was much stronger. He had demanded they show him where they had found that metal, and after threatening their entire tribe, the Jawas had complied. They had led him so deep into the Jundland wastes that no one would dare venture there.

And for good reason: the area was highly dangerous, even for the natives of the planet.

Hazael had taken the opportunity eagerly, and several months later— after having mined deep underground— he had discovered a mother-load of precious gems. Hazael knew the cache had come from the earliest times of Tatooine when the planet was still covered in oceans and plant life. The water had to have created deep pockets in the surrounding stone in which the minerals formed while volcanic activity also occurred in those areas.

Now Hazael had a large stash of priceless gems in a variety of colors, size and hardness, he'd come across a new metal he was going to use in creating weapons and armor, _and_ he ran a spice and death-stick side job that was bringing in the funding for all his mining projects.

Not to mention it paid his actual employees and for Hazael's luxurious life on Tatooine. He had water shipped in monthly from other planets, and he wasn't shy about using it.

As for the Jawas and Sand People, Hazael was using them as slaves to do the grunt work in the mines and such while pretending for the public eye to actually be friendly with the native cultures of Tatooine.

It was working perfectly too, though he did allow that Fias made a good point. Some of the seasoned farmers were indeed questioning the odd lack of Raider attacks in recent years.

Hazael glared at nothing in particular. The ungrateful fools: they should just be glad they didn't have to worry so much anymore.

"Sir?" Thew ventured cautiously.

Hazael shook himself and returned to business. "Right. Don't worry Fias. Things are under control."

"Understood Sir." Fias bowed his head and fell silent.

Hazael pointed to the crate. "Are those the things I ordered?"

"Yes, sir." Thew picked up the crate, opened it and lifted out a tattered brown robe with a leather belt, a black facial wrap and a pair of yellow reflective-surface goggles, black gloves and small cloth shoes.

All things the Jawas wore.

"This came off of the last one to die that is the boy's size." Thew explained.

"And the voice modulator?" Hazael pressed.

"Is on order as we speak." Thew confirmed. "I checked on its progress and it should arrive in two weeks. I'm sorry but that was the earliest anyone could deliver it."

Hazael waved a hand. "No, it gives me adequate time to prepare what I need to have done."

Fias tilted his head. "Prepared for what?"

Hazael's' teeth bared in a wicked smile. "Why, to introduce the galaxy to a variety of stunning gems, and to also reveal our new metal. Though I still have to name it, I don't want it to be anticlimactic after all this work."

Thew smiled right back at Hazael. "I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of Coruscant's elite when we do that."

Hazael snorted. "Indeed. Our first step will be to announce my possession of the galaxy's finest rare gems collection, and then we will allow them to be put on display in the Republic Museum, and _then_ we will move forward with the metal."

Fias nodded. "Well then, the best of luck to you, Sir."

Hazael tipped his glass. "You learn fast, Fias. You will do well in this business."

Fias beamed proudly at such praise and the three went on about their visit until it was evening and time for Thew and Fias to depart.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 **Coruscant**

Blue clashed against blue, causing sparks to fly with the ferocity of the impact. One shoved at the other in a bid for dominance, but the second held, its owner lifting a challenging auburn eyebrow.

Cerulean eyes framed by a long lock of wavy hair rolled as he rubbed his blade along his opponent's, closing in on the hilt. At the last second they broke apart, and the taller of the two men leapt up and over the head of his adversary.

Anakin Skywalker landed gracefully, but his swipe to Obi Wan Kenobi's rear was blocked as the elder Jedi Master rotated his arm, angling his lightsaber to protect himself. Anakin ignored the sweat rolling off his forehead, and how it trickled down his back in ticklish rivulets.

He relished the burning in his arms, as well as the way his legs quivered just-so from the intense workout he and Obi Wan had put themselves through.

Obi Wan spun while their blades were crossed and shoved at Anakin, making him back-step. Obi Wan attacked ruthlessly, driving Anakin across the floor, their weapons mere blurs of light to match the speed of their duel.

Anyone watching wouldn't have seen two humans, merely a pair of blurs of deep brown, tan and blue. Lightsabers flew, clashing enough to send sparks flying yet again. Anakin yielded until his back hit the wall, at which point he Force-pushed Obi Wan back, but the other grounded himself and would not be moved more than a few centimeters.

Anakin allowed a smirk and took Obi Wan's rare display of aggression in hand, deflecting every strike, parry and thrust sent his way until Obi Wan abruptly broke free, back-flipping away.

Anakin came in at him with a fire in his eyes, and Obi Wan grinned in the spirit of their sport. Anakin unleashed his fury on Obi Wan now, though he wasn't entirely able to control just how much emotion leaked past his shields halfway through.

Obi Wan's gaze took on a knowing gleam and he moved to end the fight swiftly. Unwilling to harm his brother and best friend, Anakin allowed Obi Wan to disarm him, not watching as his lightsaber hilt went flying, the blade deactivating as it left his hand.

Nothing was said for a few moments, and Obi Wan remained calm, non-judgmental while Anakin centered himself again. Once the younger Jedi's breathing had returned to normal, Obi Wan placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"What's the matter Anakin?" Obi Wan asked, though he felt he already knew. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.

"I'm sorry, Obi Wan," Anakin murmured, closing his eyes briefly. "But you know what today is..."

Obi Wan's heart went out to his brother in arms, and in a rare gesture between them, he gently embraced Anakin. "Yes, though I had forgotten it was _today_ specifically."

Anakin buried his face in Obi Wan's shoulder, allowing the moment because he needed it then. Today marked nine years since Luke had been lost to them. Anakin didn't stem his tears, but nor did he sob. But how he missed his sweet boy... missed those innocent blue eyes, the tender way Luke had touched his father's face... how he would lay awake when Leia had drifted off and babble a story for Anakin's ears only...

Anakin pulled himself together with an effort when his wrist chrono alerted him to the time of day. School would be letting out soon, and Anakin was picking up again today since Padmé was in a Senate meeting.

"Thank you Obi Wan," Anakin said once his face was dry and all traces of his sorrow were gone. He was once again the calm man he usually was, though Obi Wan liked to tease him about that. Anakin's patience had come with much effort, and there were days he reverted back to his younger, more impetuous self.

"It'll be alright, Anakin." Obi Wan drew on his outer robe, and the two walked from the training room they'd been using. "He still lives in your heart."

"I know." Anakin smiled softly. "How could I ever forget Luke?"

Obi Wan wondered: if _he'd_ ever had a child and lost them, if he would be like Anakin. Obi Wan supposed so, and he was glad of that fact, because it reminded the Jedi that he was still human.

Obi Wan recalled the day of the funeral... when Anakin and Padmé had finally accepted the truth. It had been a dark day for the Skywalker family— which they insisted Obi Wan was a part of— and Obi Wan would never forget how hard Anakin had wept.

Obi Wan had never seen Anakin lose so much of his control. Only little Leia, held safely in his arms with her tiny head tucked under her father's chin, had kept Anakin from a total meltdown. It had taken the family a very long time to move on with any semblance of normalcy again, and Obi Wan had watched in emotional pain as Anakin fought to keep afloat in the Jedi life while he was still mourning his child's death.

Obi Wan knew Padmé and Anakin had taken Luke's death hard, but Leia had taken it the worst. Being so young, she didn't understand where her twin brother had gone and why she couldn't see him anymore. No one had been able to comfort the wailing baby for days—exhaustion had claimed her after each session of mourning.

It wasn't until someone had accidentally placed her in Luke's crib that Leia had calmed on her own. The baby had huddled in under her brother's blanket and refused to be moved. She had of course left the crib after a time, but only to eat or get a diaper change. But Leia had never truly recovered from Luke's loss.

She'd become more reserved, less open, and it was clear she hurt. Even now, nine years in the future, Leia was quiet. She had eventually moved on, but she wasn't quite the same.

The pair of Jedi reached Anakin's speeder, and the younger man clasped Obi Wan's arm. "I'll see you tomorrow, Obi Wan."

"Good day Anakin," Obi Wan murmured in reply, stepping back so Anakin could safely pilot the speeder.

 **00000**

"And so by adding the left-most numbers first, you can carry the extra digits here," the teacher was saying, and like the dutiful student she considered herself to be, Leia Skywalker took studious notes. "...and then here, until you have to right-most numbers to add last. See, by carrying the extra digits you..."

"Psst..."

Leia's concentration broke slightly at the interruption in her right ear. Leia suppressed her annoyance the best she could and scrambled to catch up with the teacher's math lecture. Leia already struggled with the subject; she didn't need the added pressure of her fellow class mates distracting her.

"...and that is why it's important to do math equations in the proper order. Otherwise your answer will be wrong because you got the numbers mixed up." The professor finished. "Now, let's try it again, I will walk you through this sequence once more, but ask for help from..."

"Hey!"

Leia rolled her eyes, the grip on her stylus tightening as she worked harder to ignore the girl trying to sidetrack her still. Leia glanced up at the board the teacher was writing on, and copied the equation down. As the teacher began to write in a different colored ink to show how to do the work, Leia followed along.

A nudge to her shoulder finally pushed her beyond the patience she had been vying for and Leia slammed a hand down on her flimsi sheet.

" _What?!_ " Leia hissed vehemently, glaring at the other student.

Kelinda Koran grinned maliciously, and just before the teacher turned his steel-gray gaze their way, she tossed a folded sheet of flimsi into Leia's lap. "Miss Skywalker, Miss Koran, is there a problem?"

Before Leia had the chance to speak, Kelinda put on her pouty face and batted innocently at the instructor, who was coming closer now. "Mr. Purdit, Leia was trying to get me to pass a note to Winter. I told her to leave me alone, but she was insistent!"

The Bothan man's fur ruffled while Leia spluttered out an objection. "That's not true!"

But the teacher reached their seats, and saw the note flutter to the ground as Leia had shifted to pit Kelinda with her full brown-eyed glare.

"Hmm, it would appear you were not telling the truth, Miss Skywalker." The little girl sat in horrified silence, her mouth agape while the instructor opened the flimsi and read silently. "This indeed seems to be from you to your friend. The next time you attempt to pass a note in my class, you will receive detention. Is that understood, Miss Skywalker?"

Leia opened her mouth to snap off a reply, but snickers from her classmates caused tears to prick at her eyes. Furiously embarrassed, Leia bent her head and whispered a tiny reply. "Yes Sir."

Satisfied that the situation had been handled, Mr. Purdit returned to the font of class and resumed the lesson. Leia ignored everyone but the teacher for the rest of class, and remained seated when the bell tolled for the end of class.

The students all around her cheered and leapt to their feet, rushing to grab their belongings while Mr. Purdit shouted out final instructions for the day. Leia felt a soft hand on her shoulder and looked up into the face of her only friend.

Winter Retrac gave Leia a sorrowful look, and Leia glanced away. "I'm sorry about that, Leia. You shouldn't have gotten in trouble for Kelinda's mean prank!"

Leia sniffled, wiping at her face with a sleeve. "Don't apologize for her, but thank you Winter."

Winter glanced up upon hearing her name. "I have to go now, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Bye Winter," Leia whispered, accepting her friend's hug before Winter left with the man who always picked her up.

Not wanting to leave yet, but even more unwilling to be stopped by her teacher, Leia sullenly collected her belongings and exited the classroom. With her eyes averted and her hands up and clasping the straps of her backpack, Leia slowly traversed the hallways.

She paid no mind to anyone she passed, uncaring of what anyone wanted from her. Leia did happen to glance up at some point and see a brother and sister racing hand in hand down the hall as they attempted to catch the speeder-bus that would take them home.

Jealously, Leia glowered at their retreating backs before shame ate away at her for it. However, at the sight of their clasped hands and obviously close bond, Leia's throat closed. She dipped her head even lower when tears began to slip from her eyes, feeling her braided hair tug on her backpack.

She didn't really remember the day Luke had been taken away since she had been a baby, but she _did_ remember him suddenly going missing. Both in the Force and physically. She'd felt his absence in the Force most keenly, and her soul had cried out constantly for her other half. She and Luke had shared their mother's womb, and she could recall how close they had been. She missed him so very much...

But that wasn't the worst thing. Or maybe it wasn't _so_ bad... but she didn't like the dreams she got. Especially on this day of the year.

Leia didn't understand them, but sometimes she had strange dreams of a blond haired blue-eyed boy and she wondered if her heart was playing tricks on her sleeping mind. She knew it had to be Luke, for who else could it be?

Even if she was only ten years old, Leia understood that much. But on today... for the last few years almost as if by clockwork, Leia's pleasant dreams of Luke took on a nasty, darker tone, and it terrified her. But she'd never told anyone... she was too afraid to...

" _Leiaaaa!_ "

She snapped her head up; not realizing she was already there. With a speed her Senator mother would have been proud of, Leia wiped her face of all traces of her tears. She forced a happy smile onto her face as little feet sped towards her.

Ijon Skywalker, her four year old brother, sped up to her and slammed into his big sister. Little arms squeezed her middle and Leia had to laugh softly at her brother's enthusiasm. She hugged him back, waved at his preschool teacher and then took Ijon's hand in hers.

"How was class today?" Leia asked her brother as they walked to the pick-up area for parents to wait in.

"It was fun!" Ijon piped happily, his brown eyes twinkling with unsuppressed joy. "We got to paint with our hands! I used _green_ paint!"

Leia smiled softly. Green was Ijon's favorite color, and his bedroom was as green as one could get it, though the shades varied. He would often request items of that color, and her parents and she sometimes helped Ijon with his 'collections'.

"That sounds like fun," Leia replied after she realized she hadn't yet.

But Ijon was no longer paying her any attention. His blond head of hair whipped around and his hand abruptly left hers. Leia didn't fight it, especially when he squealed out a loud and proud _DADDY!_

Leia's mask of happiness slipped somewhat when Ijon left her immediate vicinity, but she didn't let her façade slip entirely.

Anakin knelt down with a wide grin and laughed when his youngest child slammed into him enough to rock him backwards. "Hey Squirt!"

Ijon giggled at their father's nickname for him and bounced up and down. "Daddy can we have a pudding when we get home?!"

Anakin hesitated. "Well... maybe since Mommy isn't going to be home yet, but you can't tell on me now..."

Ijon laughed when Anakin winked at him and nodded emphatically. Anakin smiled again and stood, helping the child into his speederseat. Leia arrived at that point, taking her own place in the speeder while Ijon made flying noises with a toy ship he'd discovered in the back seat.

Anakin gave his daughter a loving smile, though his eyes narrowed some when he sensed her false smile. Leia swallowed and looked away, and Anakin sighed almost imperceptibly. The ride home was silent only on Leia's end.

Ijon pointed out exciting billboards or asked Anakin questions nearly the entire trip, and inwardly Leia thanked him for distracting Anakin from asking her anything in turn. When they got home, it was to find Padmé Skywalker just arriving too.

Anakin offered a surprised look. "Home already?"

"We ended up adjourning far sooner than we had anticipated," Padmé responded, grinning as Ijon strained at his seatbelt to get to her.

"Mommy, Mommy!" the little boy cheered.

Leia let him out of his harness and then sat back as he stampeded his way out of the vehicle. After also exciting, she gave each of her parents a gentle hug each and then disappeared inside.

She felt both sets of eyes on her, felt their own lingering sorrow, but she didn't look back. Leia sat at her desk and promptly began working on homework. The busywork would distract her and keep her mind on anything but what day it was.

 **00000**

Padmé stood before the stove, listening to Ijon in the background as he played with his toys in the living room. Her eyes were on her pot of food, but her focus was elsewhere. As was all her family— except Ijon, who had been born after Luke's death— she was not in the best of spirits today.

Strong arms encircled her waist and Padmé managed a tiny smile as Anakin kissed her cheek.

"Hey, are you going to be alright?" Anakin asked gently.

Padmé sighed, blinking back to the present. "I will be. It's just always hard this time of the year."

"For all of us." Anakin agreed. "But he's still a part of us."

"Yes he is." Padmé leaned her head against her husband's, and allowed a few tears to fall as they always did on the anniversary of Luke's death, and then she pulled herself together, allowing herself to be happy.

"Thank you, Ani," Padmé murmured.

Anakin kissed her neck and pulled away. "I'm going to check on Leia."

"Thank you." Padmé threw a troubled look down the hall. "She's worrying me today."

Anakin nodded. "You and me both."

He made his way through the house and knocked on his daughter's door. He felt her stir within, but she didn't deny him entrance. Anakin let himself in and shut the door, taking in the sight of Leia bent over her homework still.

Anakin frowned, looking at the time. Her homework never took this long, even when she struggled with it. His brilliant child got all her schoolwork done in under an hour and a half depending on how much her teacher gave out. It had been well over _three_ hours since school let out.

Taking a closer look, Anakin saw that she was working her way through the large book her instructor had sent home at the start of the school year. Leia's posture was stiff like she had been at this for too long and Anakin, concerned, placed a hand to her shoulder.

Leia paused, her stylus lifting somewhat, but nor did she meet his gaze. "Leia, what are you doing?"

She still didn't look his way. "Homework."

Anakin frowned. "You don't ever have this much to do. You're not in high school, Sweetheart."

Leia shrugged listlessly. "I wanted to get some done early."

Anakin lifted a brow, noting how much she'd done. He considered his approach and then knelt at her side. It was only then that he noticed the tear tracks lining her cheeks in various places, and Anakin's heart cracked. "Princess, please look at me."

Leia didn't oblige at first, and he took one of her hands into his. "Leia..."

Finally she hesitantly looked his way, and her brown eyes were swollen with a pain that reached into her very soul. Anakin's own eyes misted, and he lovingly removed the stylus from his daughter's rigid fingers before he pulled her from the chair and into his lap, sitting more fully on the floor with her held to his chest.

"I miss him too, Princess." Anakin choked softly.

Leia went stiff as a board, in denial for several heartbeats before she went relaxed, crushing herself to him and sobbing heavily.

"D-Daddy..." she wailed as she soaked his tunic. "I... I want... w-want him b-back!"

Anakin's fragile control slipped then, and he clutched his daughter ever tighter. "So do I... Oh I do too... I would give almost anything for Luke to be with us still."

And together, father and daughter sobbed for their lost family member, drawing much-needed comfort from each other. Anakin rarely cried in front of his children, but in this case he was willing to make an exception. His daughter needed him.

 **00000**

 **Tatooine**

When the lights came up the next day for Luke, it was with a sense of foreboding, and Luke tensed instinctively. Something was going to be different about today... but what _was_ today? He usually kept track of the days somehow, but he'd not been able to of late with all of his master's meetings and extra activity.

"Well good _morning_ Little Luke..." Hazael greeted almost pleasantly and the child's blood frosted over. There was only one day of the entire year he addressed Luke by his actual name...

As if to confirm the boy's suspicions, Hazael continued in the same sickly sweet tone. "Guess what today is?"

Luke's heart was already lowering to his stomach, and he tried to ignore the man in the hopes that this year he would let Luke off the hook just once. But apparently that wasn't to be the case. It never was. Hazael liked this day far too much for that.

His master grabbed the length of chain holding Luke's collar and with it he pulled until Luke was forced to rise to a sitting position. His cheeks burned at the way his master treated him like an animal, but what could he do about it?

Before Hazael went further, he injected Luke as always, and for once Luke didn't flinch at the pain of the serum. Once the drug had been properly administered, Hazael resumed his happy attitude.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten?" Hazael feigned surprise, and Luke averted his eyes. Hazael tugged his collar sharply, forcing Luke to lift his head and look at him anyway.

Hazael's teeth gleamed in a sweetly sinister smile he seemed to reserve for Luke. "Why, today is our anniversary of course! Today marks nine years that you and I have been together."

Hazael pulled Luke's chain again and Luke was drawn close to his master's body, though he fought it now, not wanting what he knew was coming. Luke tried to get away, even going so far as to lift his bare foot and place it on Hazael's stomach.

Hazael beat it down harshly and jerked the chain so hard Luke slammed into Hazael's side. The man promptly crushed Luke in a wampa-hug, squeezing so hard the child couldn't breathe. Even still Luke squirmed against him. He did not like being touched, let alone held... especially by this man!

"Our little family may be small, Luke, but we've had some good times, don't you think?" Hazael asked, relishing in how the slave boy went rigid at the mention of 'family' in relation to them. Hazael grinned widely, relishing in torturing the boy with this day as always.

He was well aware that the boy hated their little holiday, and Hazael made certain to remind Luke very year and to treat him 'extra special'. It broke the boy down even more than he already was, and Hazael enjoyed every moment of it.

When Luke's motions grew less energetic due to the lack of air, Hazael released him, listening to the boy gasp and cough. Hazael eyed Luke like a puppy who'd just finished a romp in the mud, and when the child realized the attention, Luke froze.

His master had _that_ look...

"You know, I don't recall the last time you had a bath." Hazael watched the child balk, the slave's eyes widening. He chuckled. "Oh yes, we shall start today's celebrating with a bath. I will be back."

Hazael didn't need Jedi powers to feel the terror pulsating from the boy as he went to fill up the large bathtub he reserved for Luke's use.

In his room, Luke was already in tears, frantically trying to find a way to get out of this.

 _Please don't let this happen!_ Luke begged the cosmos. _Please!_

When his master returned, Luke sucked in a breath, straining against the man when he released his chain and grabbed Luke's bicep.

Luke tried valiantly to get free, tugging frantically at the grasp on his arm but Hazael's grip only tightened until Luke could feel the circulation cutting off. Desperate, he finally went so far as to drop to the floor, forcing his master to stumble.

Hazael's livid green gaze pitted Luke and the child gulped, realizing he had just made things worse. The man grabbed Luke's collar, jerked him to his feet and lifted him into the air.

"You rotten little worm!" Hazael growled dangerously.

Without further hesitation he carried a gagging Luke to the basement refresher where he 'bathed' the child. Luke fought and kicked, but when the tub itself came into view— filled to the brim— his silence was finally broken.

"No! No please!" Luke sobbed, struggling harder and ignoring the spots starting to dance before his eyes. "Master no! NO!"

But his pleas went unacknowledged as usual, and Hazael dropped Luke to the floor. The boy promptly began to crawl away, but was halted by a hand grasping his ankle. Luke screamed when Hazael ripped the loincloth from his body and then yanked Luke's bare form from the ground.

Luke shrieked continuously, especially when the water was just below his head. "NO! NOOO!" He flung out his hands to grip the edges of the tub and try to halt his descent. He succeeded initially, but then Hazael's heavy boots slammed down upon one of his hands. Luke hollered when his fingers shot through with agony, and he lost his grip completely when Hazael sucker-punched Luke in the stomach.

"PLEASE NO! NOOO!" His frantic calls only increased as Hazael dipped him slowly but surely so that first Luke's hair and then his forehead got wet.

" _NOOOOOO..._ " Luke's final sobbed scream was gurgled off as water entered his mouth and nose when his entire head was finally put under the water. He was held there for several terrifying seconds before his master abruptly dropped the rest of him so that Luke's feet slammed painfully against the rim of the tub. Luke lashed about in a blind panic, seeking the surface of the water with all the strength he possessed.

He'd just managed to break the surface and gulp in a sweet breath of air before Hazael forced him under again, holding the boy down until Luke's lungs were burning for air. Luke was then pulled back up, and while he spluttered and wheezed, Hazael grabbed a rough washing brush meant for dewback hides. He lathered it with soap and then placed the thing to Luke's skin, scrubbing roughly and painfully as always.

Luke cried out in pain from the innumerable scratches his tender skin was receiving, watching the water tint with blood where his master paid extra attention to dirty places. Luke tried in vain not to feel violated when Hazael even washed his private areas, and then he was forced under the surface again.

Luke fought with all he was, even as he knew it was in vain. By the time he was let up this time, he was seeing black fuzz, and his movements were slowing alarmingly. His master scrubbed his head, the hair pulling as knots were discovered and yanked at without mercy. Luke could only sob and weakly fight him off.

When the child was at last pulled free of the water after his final 'rinse', Luke was so weak all he could do was lay limply on the dirt floor where Hazael unceremoniously dropped him.

His master stared at Luke's red skin, his sopping wet hair, and how the sand and dirt from the floor now coated his wet front. Luke panted wildly, quivering uncontrollably while his master merely clucked and then grabbed his ankle. He bodily dragged the boy through the house to his tiny room and threw something at him.

"Get dressed and join me for a meal," Hazael ordered.

Luke shut his eyes against hot tears, using every ounce of willpower to hold them back. But it was in vain: he was no longer in control of himself in that respect. Knowing that an especially severe punishment would be forthcoming if Luke refused his master's specific orders today, Luke forced himself to sit up.

With shaking limbs, Luke placed the loincloth where it belonged on his body. He tried not to feel the burns and cuts left behind by the scrubber that had never been intended for human use. But his entire body was red and raw, painful to the touch, especially under the coarse fabric of his loincloth.

Luke whimpered in pain but struggled to his feet. He limped on wobbly knees to his master's table and stood behind the stool meant for Luke. He stared helplessly at the table that had been ornately adorned with the man's finest serving wear and foods for today. Luke hated this day more than he despised the collar he wore.

Hazael spared no expense to remind Luke how unwanted he was by his family. Luke still recalled the very first time the man had subjected Luke to the truth.

" _Come in." Hazael gestured to a stool meant for Luke that was set adjacent to his own. The small child scampered obediently forward on his little legs, tugging as always at his collar. Even after three months, he hadn't gotten used to it. He wondered if he ever would._

" _Tell me, Luke, do you know what today is?" Hazael asked patiently._

 _Luke frowned up at him. "I... no, Master." His voice was soft, timid, little used._

 _Hazael smiled in a way that sent chills down Luke's spine and the boy shivered. "Today is the anniversary of you coming to live with me."_

 _Luke blinked. "Oh." He looked down, a secret wish barely managing to stay inside his mouth. But, his ever-perceptive master saw this and tilted the child's head back up._

" _Tell me what is on your mind, boy."_

 _Luke blinked rapidly. "I... I don't want to..."_

" _Tell me." Hazael's voice held a warning that the child promptly obeyed._

" _I... I... m-maybe m-my family... w-will c-come to g-g-get me..." Luke stammered, fearful of how the man would react. "M-maybe th-they don't know where I am... they must still w-want m-me... I... I am th-their s-s-son, a-and..."_

 _Hazael's gaze shifted and he drew eyelevel with the child, halting his fumbling explanation. "Listen to me very carefully. Your parents... they don't want you. They never did. Did you know that they hardly even_ tried _to look for you? Almost as soon as you were gone they moved on."_

 _Luke's heart clenched. "N-no..."_

" _Yes!" Hazael pulled a datapad from his pocket, on which had been placed several falsified news reports. But the child wouldn't know that. Hazael showed the child the headlines, even reading from one false article._

' _...the Skywalker family moved on far swifter than a family ought to, which begs the question if they even wanted the son they lost to begin with...'." Hazael watched with glee as the boy strove to cling to his fragile hopes that his master was wrong. "Oh, and here's another blurb: '...and so, not long after the disappearance of the Skywalker boy, the parents have replaced him with a_ new _son'."_

 _Luke was weeping now. "R-replaced me? No! No they wouldn't! Th-they love..."_

"Nobody loves you! _" Hazael snapped like a nexu attacking its dinner, his friendly façade disappearing. "Your parents never wanted you, and they replaced you with a new,_ improved _'Skywalker son'!"_

 _Luke couldn't help the heavy tears that were falling now. "Th...that's n-not true!"_

" _They why did they not look for you?" Hazael countered snidely. "I think they may have tried for a week or so, but that was just for appearances sake." He leaned forward, smirking imperiously and loving the hurt emanating from his slave's eyes. "They don't want you. They didn't then, they don't now, and this new son of theirs is their way of moving on without you."_

 _Hazael sat back as Luke sobbed. "You were left to fend for yourself by a family that never truly loved you. You are forgotten to them all; they have moved on in their important lives as Jedi and Senator. You have no reason to hope otherwise."_

 _He leaned forward. "Do you understand?"_

 _Luke tried to deny it again, but he had no way to confirm it, unaware that the serum his master gave him daily blocked his access to the Force as well as his presence in it._

" _But..." he whimpered in a final attempt, but Hazael cut him off._

" _And let's say you did somehow get back to them. What then?" He snorted, gesturing to the filthy, starved slave boy wearing only a cloth over his waist. "Do you really think the galaxy's most well-known Jedi Knight and a former queen-turned-revered Senator will want back a_ slave _for a child? Think of how that would tarnish their image... and trust me, they hold to their image as do all the hierarchy of Coruscant. You are now beneath them, blood or no."_

 _Luke's shoulders had steadily slumped with each word until the child could hunker no further down._

" _No. They would never want you back,_ worthless _." Hazael leered over the boy, intimidating him as only Hazael could. "So stop pretending you're anyone of importance and accept your lot in life. You are the scum beneath my feet: at my beck and call, and mine to do whatever I want with."_

 _Luke swallowed hard, his hope shattering in the face of what had to be the truth. His master had news reports, after all. He had_ proof _. Luke couldn't deny the cold hard facts, even if his young mind didn't fully understand the world of the adults._

A cold, hard hand gripped Luke's shoulder, bringing him back to the present with a searing wave of pain. Luke cried out, jerking away and trying to ignore the throbbing in his skin where Hazael had touched him.

"Sit, worthless. Let's pass the dinner hour with reminders of how low on the ladder you really are, shall we?" Hazael seated himself after Luke had obediently taken his seat, tears leaking continuously down his face as Hazael read several news reports about how happy Luke's family was without their slave son.

The boy never knew they were fake, as he had no way to tell. Luke's education was only enough that he could perform his chores, and nothing more. He had no reading or writing skills, and he couldn't have solved even the simplest math problems outside of basic addition and subtraction.

Luke listened— he had no choice— as his master gleefully reminded Luke of his place beneath his master's feet. He wished he could just go numb, but his shattered heart wouldn't let him, and thus he was forced to endure yet another day of utter cruelty from his master.

But the last thing Luke expected, even from Hazael, was what happened next. "Oh, and I got you a little present."

Luke didn't know if he should get up and run as far away as he could or start screaming where he sat. As it was, shock and morbid expectation froze him to the spot, and when Hazael handed him a wrapped item, Luke could only take it and stare.

"It's rude not to accept a gift, you know." Hazael told Luke.

The ice in the other's tone made the child flinch, and with trembling fingers he undid the black wrapping paper. When it fell away, Luke was left to stare into the faces of people he didn't want to see. Especially today.

"That's your big happy family, living out their life of luxury on Coruscant while you rot away here." Hazael tapped his chin thoughtfully and removed the holo from Luke's rigid fingers. "I think we will hang this in your room. I think I can allow you _one_ decoration."

Luke's eyes shot up to his master's and the man's lips lifted just so. "Oh yes, runt. You will get to look at them as they forget about you more and more each day. Happy anniversary."

Luke took a haggard breath and said nothing, just accepting his master's will because he had nowhere else to go, no way to break free, and no hope of any sort. He was a worthless boy that no one wanted, and no one cared what happened to him, so why should he have any self esteem?

When his master finally let Luke retire for the night, he lay gingerly upon his bed once Hazael had attached his chain. When the door sealed shut, Luke's last view was that of the Skywalker family holo, and it seared into his mind's eye when the lights turned off, plunging the room into pitch blackness.

* * *

 **(A/N:** _Ijon's name is pronounced (ee-yawn OR eon) for anyone who was curious. Or if you prefer, just like Ian, LOL_ **)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

"NO!" Leia jerked upright in bed, panting heavily and shaking from head to toe. She had finally broken free of her nightmare, brushing her hands over her arms and startling when she felt them to be wet with perspiration.

But— still high on emotion from the vivid nightmare— Leia balked at the sensation, half expecting to get wet herself, but nothing happened except for her falling out of bed. When she landed Leia cried out in pain, lying still for a few minutes and breathing with some difficulty.

But as the memory replayed in her mind, Leia's meager self control rapidly dissolved until she was sobbing heavily. She curled up in fear, scooting into the corner between her bed and the wall until there she sat, trembling.

Why did she keep having these horrible dreams? Or why have dreams of Luke at all? Was it her mind doing things on its own? Was it her wish to have Luke still alive and by her side that was causing these night-terrors?

Leia didn't know, but if it _was_ her heart wishing things and her mind playing off of that, then why the _bad_ dreams? Why weren't they all pleasant?

She didn't know, and she was more than a little confused... and terrified. She didn't understand why she was afraid, but she was, and she didn't know who to talk to. What if she talked with her parents and hurt them by admitting she was having dreams of Luke? What if her constant wish to have him home hurt them because they wanted it too but had finally moved on with their lives, and were thrown back into disarray because of their daughter?

Leia's head was starting to hurt with the run-arounds, and she closed her eyes tightly to try quieting her mind.

She eventually calmed down enough to just cry silently, though her frame still quivered. But then a thought came to her, and Leia pursed her lips. One night when her parents hadn't known she was listening her mother had mentioned a therapist who could help them understand dreams...

Could it be possible? Could someone really help her? After some deliberation, Leia made her choice. Standing, she drew on her night robe and carefully padded to her door.

Using her meager Force skills, Leia checked the area for anyone, and then listened for droid sounds. When nothing came to her but silence, Leia cracked the door open and poked her head out.

After a visual check, Leia left her bedroom and went to her parents' office. Leia closed the door silently and sat in the chair before the large desk. The black seat engulfed her small body, making Leia briefly feel like it was going to swallow her whole.

And after her latest nightmare, who could blame her for such a thought?

Leia swallowed and scooted forward, lifting her hands to turn on her mother's computer. She made sure the sound was off so she didn't accidentally wake her parents. Once it had come on, Leia accessed the HoloNet and paused.

What was a therapist for dreams called? Unable to guess, she simply typed ' _Dream Interpretation._ ' Leia clicked SEARCH and then sat back as the computer did its thing. She glanced nervously around the office and then the computer finished its hunt.

She sat forward and perused the headlines.

... _Dream Moods... Dream Dictionary... Dreams: What do they mean?..._

Leia chose the third option and was greeted with the image of a Fosh woman with pink and purple feathers. The child read a little bit about the woman's job and what she did and felt her hopes rise somewhat, especially when Leia read the next paragraph.

' _Dreams have a meaning, and while they can be scary at times (admit it, you have had dreams that you'd be afraid to tell to your closest friend) there_ is _a reason for these dreams. If you need help interpreting them, stop in and Dr. Vireenia Hoolt will be glad to help you make sense of them. Walk-ins accepted._ '

Leia bit her lip, thinking deeply. Maybe this woman could help Leia without her having to involve her parents? But would she help a child?

 _The site said walk-ins were okay..._ Leia thought, slowly coming to a decision.

She would see this doctor, and she would take her small amount of savings with her to pay for the visit. She didn't know if she had enough, but it would hopefully do. Leia knew that she'd have to go during school, since the office hours didn't allow her to go afterwards.

But how to get away?

Leia considered again and then nodded slowly. She _could_ wait until her mother dropped them off at school and then slip away before the first bell...

It would have to do. But what if someone recognized her?

Leia printed off the address and directions for the office, and then signed off the computer, shutting it down once more. Then she went to her room and packed a change of clothes in her backpack, as well as a hat and sunglasses.

It wasn't the best disguise, but it was the best she could do. Finally, exhausted, Leia started to get back in bed.

One touch of her sweat-wet sheets shocked Leia back to full awareness, and she backed away from the bed, still too afraid of her dream to want to get wet again anytime soon. She pursed her lips and looked around for an alternative.

The only thing that could work was a plush rocking chair, but it was better than the floor. With a sigh, Leia retrieved her pillow and a fresh blanket and curled up into the seat to sleep, though it was hardly restful.

 **00000**

Hazael settled into his plush bed with a happy chuckle, relishing in the silken sheets he could slide across. He had successfully hurt the child yet again, bringing him to a new low not even Luke thought was possible. He'd also reestablished where the child sat on the social ladder.

And the best thing; the runt didn't even know that Hazael had faked his death. Hazael had always carefully monitored whatever newsfeeds and such that the boy saw or heard, so that the child never learned the truth about his family. As far as Luke knew, his family had abandoned him because they didn't want him.

And Hazael had no intentions of bringing the ignorant whelp in on the fact that his family thought him to be dead.

Hazael knew Luke harbored some bitterness and hurt, even a little resentment towards his family... all brought on by the misinformation Hazael had convinced him to be the truth at such a tender age. Little Luke had tried to deny what Hazael had told him all those years ago, but the little boy hadn't had a chance, and Hazael had taken great care to dash all his slave's hopes into tiny pieces.

The fact that Luke was not pleased with his family was simply a boon to his master. It would one day be a thorn in the Skywalker family's side... if they ever learned the truth that is.

Hazael's thoughts turned to his upcoming trip to Coruscant. Luke didn't know it yet, but he would be accompanying Hazael there... and not as himself either. Hazael would have the Skywalker runt right under his parents' noses... oh, what a sweet victory for him!

Hazael grabbed a datapad off the bedside table and pulled up a holo of Padmé, one he'd taken with her during the Clone Wars. The snowy background showed in stark contrast to her lovely senatorial gown and he loved the way her eyes sparkled with intelligence.

How could she have denied his advances then? He would never forget how she'd turned him down on his many offers... though one in particular stung the most. And that had turned into a huge mistake... oh Padmé's part that is.

He now had her son to prove it.

Hazael eventually sighed and set the datapad aside, closing his eyes and allowing himself to rest.

 **00000**

When she got up to her alarm the next morning, Leia groaned in exhaustion. She did something she never did: she hit the snooze button. Too tired to care, Leia let the five minutes pass, and then she had to admit she needed to get up.

She groggily extracted herself from the chair and shuffled to the refresher. However, the sight of the bathtub jolted her fully awake as easily as the wet sheets had during the night. With a gasp, Leia's muzzy mind recalled the nightmare with vivid, frightening clarity and she snatched her hand away from the shower knob as though a snake had snapped at her.

She trembled, closing her eyes and working hard not to cry out. She took a few deep breaths and then turned from the refresher all together. She felt dirty and less than human, but Leia refused to get wet, and she planned to avoid large quantities of water too.

Leia did her best to remove the quiver in her hands as she dressed, making sure to double check her backpack. Before leaving, Leia went to her small savings jar and pulled it out, carefully wrapping it in a shirt and placing it in her backpack also.

Then, taking a deep breath, Leia emerged from her room, hoping she didn't look as tired as she felt.

But her perceptive father— who was making breakfast while Padmé prepared for her day at the Senate— wasn't fooled.

"Leia, are you alright?" He sounded worried, and when the little girl met his gaze, his eyes narrowed in concern.

"I didn't sleep well, Dad," Leia admitted begrudgingly. Her father could sense lies, so it was pointless to try.

He came around and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Leia bit her lip, shaking her head. "No... not really."

Anakin studied his daughter for a few moments, but ultimately decided to let her have some space. "Alright, but you know you can talk to your Mother and me about anything."

Leia only nodded, sitting down at the table. Moments later Anakin set a plate of food before her and Leia dug in, realizing she was starving. She ate swiftly, not caring that Ijon was gaping at her. She never ate this fast, and he was amazed.

When she completed her meal, Leia took her dishes to the sink while Anakin sat at the table next to Ijon to eat. Leia froze when her eyes took in the sink of soapy water, and she swallowed with difficulty.

 _...water entered his mouth and nose, and then his entire head was finally put under the water. He was held there for several terrifying seconds... forced him under again, holding the boy down until the boy's lungs were burning for air..._ _he was seeing black fuzz, and his movements were slowing..._

Leia didn't realize she was trembling again until the fork rattled off the edge of her plate and fell to the floor with aloud clank. She jumped, and all but threw her plate onto the counter while her father's muffled voice sounded as if from far away.

Leia picked up the fork and put it on the plate, then hustled away from the water.

"Leia!"

She stopped when Anakin gently but firmly grasped her arm and pulled her back around to face him. His face was etched with more concern now.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

Leia bit her lip, knowing she had to give him _something_... and then she knew what. "I'm just afraid that Kelinda will get me in trouble with the teacher again today. Yesterday she lied to him and told Mr. Purdit that I was passing a note and he believed _her_ over _me!_ She's so rotten, and I don't want to sit by her anymore!"

Anakin's gaze narrowed yet again, and she could tell he knew that wasn't the full truth, but nevertheless he addressed her statement. "I can talk to the teacher after school for you, get that sorted out."

Leia nodded swiftly, and Anakin went on. "What else is wrong, Sweetheart?"

Leia looked away. "I..."

"Alright you two, time to go!" Padmé declared as she emerged from the master bedroom while juggling a bag and a folder of flimsi sheets. Ijon leapt from his seat with a cheer and grabbed his backpack, racing Padmé to the speeder.

Leia tried to tug free of Anakin's grasp but he wouldn't let her go yet.

"Leia please, what's going on?" he pleaded softly.

Leia was doing her best not to burst out into tears, and she turned tortured eyes onto her father. "I... I don't want to talk about it! Please Daddy!"

Anakin did a double take and opened his mouth, but Leia finally wrenched her arm from his grasp and hustled away, ignoring his use of her name to her back. She forced herself to not look back and see her father's face, pretending to be reading a book while entering the speeder so Padmé wouldn't notice.

Her mother took off with a wave at her husband and then Leia was free of her father's searching, hurting gaze.

 **00000**

Luke went about his movements with far less enthusiasm than ever before. He had already completed the house's daily clean-up, and now was working on an extra chore given him today.

Hazael had ordered Luke to deep clean the dewback stalls and pen, in the heat of the late afternoon... in no clothing aside from his loincloth. Luke already had a deep sunburn, and was trying to split up the time in the open sun with time in the stalls, which at least had an awning to provide some shade.

But that didn't save him from the heat either way, and Luke was parched for water. He'd already gone through his allotment for the day— his master gave him one canteen for outside per day, and once it was empty, Luke was on his own.

Luke had learned very early on to ration his water to the point of paranoia, but even so, there were times his water supply just wasn't enough. Like today.

Luke's arms were shaking, his knees threatening to buckle, but he kept shoveling the dung into a large bucket and then walking that bucket to the heap on the outskirts of the stable area. He was then supposed to rake the sandy stalls and provide fresh food for the animals Hazael used for traversing the desert whenever a speeder would draw unwanted attention.

As he labored, Luke's mind wandered, and he found himself revisiting old thoughts and acrimony. And it all stemmed from that blasted holo Hazael had 'gifted' to Luke. Luke was well aware of the point behind the gift: Luke didn't want any reminders of the family that had left him to rot in his hell. They'd abandoned him, didn't want him, and hadn't even looked for him!

And while they lived in the lap of luxury, Luke's existence was a metal cubicle hidden within the innermost walls of a sandstone building... chained up like a piece of livestock every single night. Not to mention he was forced to wear a collar like a prized pet while he endured endless cruelty and starvation.

He didn't _want_ reminders of his family, he didn't want to be constantly reminded of what he lacked that his family didn't fancy him for...

Something in Luke— something deep, deep down— twinged at these bitter thoughts, and he had to wonder if that was all really true. Some part of Luke had, despite Hazael's best efforts, secretly harbored the tiniest shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, Hazael was wrong.

Maybe Luke's family _did_ still want him... it was possible, right?

' _How could the upper echelons of Coruscant ever want a worthless pile of meat like you?'_ Hazael's words returned to Luke then, said on more than one occasion.

Luke didn't know, but he was a little at war with himself though the bitterness was stronger than the hope right now. And yet... Luke wasn't forgetting the fact that he was illiterate. He had no way to know if Hazael was lying to him or not.

But if his family wanted him, then why hadn't they come for him?

 _It's not like it hasn't been nine years or anything..._ Luke groused inwardly, and he allowed a few desolate tears to slip down his cheeks, safe as he was in his solitary moment.

Eventually, Luke lifted the last bit of dung and set his shovel aside, grunting with effort when he attempted to lift the heavy bucket. He managed to raise it up some, and then he staggered like a drunkard as he walked towards the collection area, trying desperately not to drop the bucket and have to re-shovel it all.

Luke had to pause halfway there, panting with exertion. He had woken up sick this morning after eating food his body hadn't been accustomed to for years now. Well, he hadn't eaten that kind of food for as long as he could remember really. Luke's diet was carefully controlled to only offer him the minimal needed substance... he never ate the way Hazael did, and certainly never food of such... _first-class_ quality.

Luke's stomach had rebelled at the food during the night— which he had spent tossing and turning— and he'd ended up vomiting everything back up. Couple that with three days of no food beforehand, and he was dangerously weak. At least his foot had been taken care of by the medic Hazael finally called in, but even so, he wasn't supposed to be walking on the foot while it healed.

Luke heaved again with his arms and lifted the bucket for several more steps before he halted again, his hot body threatening to give out on him. Luke lifted his gaze, trying to ignore the stinging sensation as sweat dripped from stringy hair into his eyes.

With a final grunt, Luke slammed the bucket down before the dung pile, panting like he'd just run a mile. He couldn't control his quivering body, and he was alarmed to find black fuzz creeping along his vision now.

Frightened, Luke hastened to dump out the last of the dung and then he raced back to the stall, feeling his head swim as he fought the heat. Luke managed to return to the last stall he was cleaning and then he slumped against the back wall, panting heavily still and shaking like a leaf.

His vision tunneled until Luke could see noting but black static before his eyes... and then he knew no more.

 **00000**

Anakin stared after the family speeder until it was no longer in view, and yet his heart ached over his daughter's obvious distress. But why wouldn't she tell him what was happening? Something was clearly wrong... but what?

Anakin returned to the kitchen with halfhearted steps, eyeing the discarded dishes Leia had left behind. He frowned somewhat. Leia always washed her dishes... she was usually insistent on being clean, orderly and on time.

His frown deepened. Come to think of it, Leia had been at breakfast earlier than usual, even for her...

Anakin pursed his lips and walked to her bedroom, seeking clues as to his daughter's distress. The first thing he noticed upon entering was the blanket and pillow in her recliner, and when he looked toward his daughter's bed, it was to find it rumpled and left in disarray.

Now Anakin was even more concerned, and he touched the sheets to try and get a sense of whatever emotions Leia might have left behind. What he felt startled him: fear. In fact, now that Anakin was open to the Force more-so, he could sense the entire room saturated with it. Anakin ran a hand through his hair and sat on the edge of Leia's bed.

Had she had a nightmare? That had to be it... but what could possibly generate such fear in his daughter?

Anakin sat for a long time until, unable to get any more information, he sighed and left the room. Upon passing the kids' refresher, Anakin noticed that the light was still on, and he detoured to shut it off. As he did so, his hand happened to brush against Leia's toothbrush, and he paused to feel it was dry.

Anakin's brow furrowed once more and he glanced at the shower. A notion was working its way into his head and, willing to follow his hunch, Anakin shifted the curtain to find a dry shower. Ijon bathed before bedtime, but his elder sister preferred to do so in the mornings.

In fact, Leia absolutely refused to go to school without showering first...

Anakin recalled Leia freezing before the sink in the kitchen earlier. A sink full of water...

She'd not bathed, hadn't even brushed her teeth, but she _had_ freaked out about a sink of dishwater...

Anakin blew out a breath. _Since when is she afraid of water?_ Anakin wondered in exasperation. _It has to have been her bad dream..._

Anakin's head came up.

Unless it hadn't been a _dream_...

Anakin bit his lip hard and then pulled out his comlink. "Obi Wan?"

A few seconds ticked by until the receiver crackled to life. "Good morning Anakin."

"Are you busy?" Anakin asked, skipping the return greeting.

"Well I do have a Council meeting in two hours, but I'm free before then," Obi Wan replied. "Why do you ask?"

Anakin glanced at his chrono. "I need to talk to you in person. Can you meet me at Dex's diner?"

Obi Wan must have heard something in his tone, because he didn't argue. "Alright. See you soon."

"Thanks."

Anakin signed off and hastily made his own exit from the home, asking Threepio to see to the clean-up while he was gone.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Leia had never been so appreciative of the child-sized Jedi robe her father had given to his daughter on her eighth lifeday. Once Ijon had been passed off to his teachers, she had donned it after changing her clothing in the nearest refresher.

Now it kept her face and overall identity as a child hidden. She could have passed for any number of species of aliens that were about the same height as human children of her age. Therefore no one batted an eye as she passed, since they did not have her immediate identity to view.

That didn't alleviate all of her nerves, though, and Leia did her best to control her slight tremble. She had never been out this far from home or school on her own, and she was a little frightened. Especially of the number of less-friendly persons she kept seeing. Leia didn't like the growing number of disgruntled-seeming groups she passed, and wondered where exactly she was.

She suddenly wished for a weapon, though her parents would never let her have one at ten years of age. She didn't really feel safe, so Leia simply kept her head down, eyes averted, and did her best to follow the map she had.

A group of mean-looking men with lots of tattoos and strange facial hair drew nearer and Leia instinctively clutched her robe tighter to her. It wouldn't protect her from any sort of attack, but it made her feel slightly better. She didn't breathe easier until they had passed her by, though one human man glanced her way. Leia held her breath... but he eventually looked away and caught up with his fellows.

Leia swallowed and consulted her map. She had been walking for well over an hour now, and she was hoping dearly that she wasn't lost... because she couldn't take much more of this. With a sigh, Leia pressed on, and after ten more minutes, the building indicated on her map came into view.

It was all she could do to not to break into a run, though Leia noticed that the people on the walkways were starting to look a slightly less dangerous the closer to it she got. When she finally entered the front doors, Leia slumped against the first wall she found, nearly gasping with relief.

She'd made it! The thought of having to return home the same way struck her and Leia swallowed uncomfortably, but before she could entertain that thought more, a voice spoke to her.

"May I help you?"

Leia's head snapped up to see a Togruta woman with turquoise skin and white montrals and headtails striped in red leaning over the reception desk farther into the lobby.

Leia called upon her mother's example and straightened carefully before walking calmly up to the desk. "I would like to see Dr. Hoolt please."

The woman nodded. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, sorry."

The woman paused, and Leia went on. "But you do take walk-in appointments, right?"

The other smiled softly. "We do, yes, but those are based on availability between scheduled patients."

"Forgive me, but I don't see anyone else here," Leia said with a look around the otherwise empty lobby.

The woman tilted her head. "Indeed. I will need you to fill out a few forms, assuming this is your first time here?"

Leia bit her lip. Paperwork? She hadn't counted on that...

With a sigh, Leia accepted the forms and the stylus, and then started to walk to a seat. "I will also need to see your insurance card."

Leia froze. "Wh-what?"

"This is a clinic, Miss. We will need to see your insurance in order to allow you a visit with the doctor."

Leia's heart sank. "B-but I... I don't have insurance..."

The Togruta woman stood up and Leia finally saw her nametag: Irene.

"Then I am sorry, but we cannot help you," Irene said, gesturing for Leia to return the forms.

Leia held them stubbornly, her hood still in place. "No! Please... I just need to talk to her! Just one time!"

Irene thinned her lips somewhat. "Miss, I really am sorry, but she does not accept patients without..."

"I DON'T HAVE IT!" Leia cried, ripping the hood from her face. The woman behind the tall desk did a double-take and Leia returned to the counter. "Please... I need help. Please let me see her. I can pay for the visit!"

While the woman tried to find a nice way to deny the child once more, Leia dug out her jar of credits, setting it upon the counter between them. There was a heavy silence while the woman gave Leia a look that somehow conveyed sympathy and pity at the same time.

"Little girl..."

"Leia." She corrected instantly.

"Leia." Irene repeated dutifully. "I don't think we can help you, and shouldn't you really be in school anyway? Where are your parents?"

"At work," Leia replied. "And this can't wait. Besides, you aren't open after school."

Irene opened her mouth once more, but a different voice cut in. "What's going on here Irene?"

The Togruta woman looked relieved as she turned to the Fosh woman now standing at her side. "Dr. Hoolt, this child is insisting on seeing you but she obviously has no insurance and no parents to accompany her."

Dr. Hoolt's blue eyes regarded Leia calmly. "What do you need to see me for?"

Leia frowned. "I want to save that for our session."

The doctor clucked her beaked mouth. "Young woman, you are but a child...

"Pardon me," Leia interrupted, watching the pair of women share a startled glance, "but your website says that you can help _anyone_. It says also that walk-in appointments are welcome. Well, I walked in, I can pay, and therefore you have to see me." Leia declared with a suddenly regal air about her. She _would_ be seen today and just because she was a child didn't mean they could outright dismiss her.

Padmé would have been utterly proud, Leia reflected dryly. As for that matter, so would Anakin, and that made Leia's heart warm, giving her some courage.

Dr. Hoolt eyed Leia for a moment, her pair of antennae working strangely before the woman chuckled softly. "Irene, I do believe we have a politician in the making here. Very well young woman, I will see you. The allotted time is one hour, though with sign in and information gathering, it will actually be forty-five minutes. Agreed?"

Leia nodded. "That should be enough time." _I hope..._ she added silently. She could not afford a second visit.

"Very well, please come this way, Miss..." the woman left off pointedly, and Leia hesitated. Should she give the woman her real name? Would that come back around to hurt her parents?

"I can assure you all our records regarding patients are confidential. That means you're safe here, Young Lady," the doctor said softly, as if sensing Leia's struggle.

"Even from the media?" Leia whispered.

That garnered a tilt to the Fosh's head that Leia guessed was equivalent to a human lifting an eyebrow. "And why would you be concerned about the media?"

"Please just answer the question!" Leia all but begged.

"Very well," the woman said with a sigh. "The media has no access to my company's records. So yes."

Leia finally relaxed. "Very well. My name is Leia Skywalker."

Again the two blinked in surprise, and Leia was admitted shortly thereafter.

 **00000**

" _Luke..."_

 _He stirred lethargically._

" _Luke..."_

 _What did the voice want? All he wanted was to stay in his peaceful moment... he felt no pain here... didn't want to be disturbed..._

" _Luke, Sweetheart..."_

 _Wait._ Sweetheart? _No one called him that. Nobody except..._

" _Kalira?"_

 _His eyelids lifted and Luke looked around, promptly feeling his eyes widen to their full width. Instead of sand in all directions, there was... green stuff, and he sat up abruptly. Luke only knew what green was because his master wore it sometimes. On second thought, Hazael had a small patch of green stuff in his office, and he had called it... what was the name again?_

 _Grass. That was it, grass!_

 _Luke gaped, realizing he lay in the grass... and he reached out to touch it as if it was a fine piece of silk. When his fingers touched the soft, moist leaves, he laughed shakily, letting the long blades run through his fingers as if it was hair._

Cold hands lifted his limp body from the sands, and voices conversed as he was carried back to the house.

"...must let the boy's body rest or you will no longer have your slave, Hazael!" Someone warned.

"Fine!" A second groused, clearly unhappy.

" _Luke."_

 _His head lifted and when his gaze fell upon the dark-haired woman standing not far off, his eyes filled with tears._

" _Kalira?"_

 _Brown eyes grew warm as Kalira nodded, and Luke shot to his feet, racing up to the lady and throwing his arms around her. The woman embraced him just as fervently, and Luke wept in her arms._

" _Kalira... I've missed you so much!" Luke cried, squeezing a bit more. "I wish you were still with me!"_

 _Kalira kissed his head with all the love of a mother. "I know... I wish I was too. I didn't want to leave you, especially all alone with Hazael, but you know I had no choice."_

"Why in the hells is the runt muttering?"

"He's probably delirious, heat stroke will do that to a person," the doctor replied, busy trying to get the child's I.V. in place.

"No, it's like he's talking to someone," Hazael said knowingly. Could his serum be wearing off?

"Your drug is working fine, Hazael," the medic said, recognizing the man's expression. "Trust me, this _is_ delirium. His mind is making things up to try and cope with the effects of the extreme heat and dehydration he's experiencing."

 _Luke only cried harder. "I want you back! You're the only one who's ever loved me!"_

 _Kalira knelt before him and lifted his chin tenderly. "How could I not love someone as sweet as you? I tried so hard to take care of you. It wasn't easy at first, but I learned well enough I guess."_

 _Luke nodded emphatically. "You did a_ great _job! I... I love you!"_

 _She smiled again, and Luke noticed she was beginning to fade for some reason. "Luke, don't believe Hazael when he tells you that you have no worth."_

 _Luke swallowed heavily. "H-how can I not?" he asked brokenly. "No one wants me... I'm worthless, filthy, and lower than scum..."_

 _Kalira's eyes spilled over at that point. "No Luke, no!"_

Hazael glared at his slave's unconscious form as he listened in to the breathed words that slipped past the runt's lips every now and then. The boy's malnourished body tensed, and then relaxed, and the medic added a sedative to the boy's intravenous feed.

"I am serious, Hazael. If you do not allow him time to recover, he will not be alive for you to... _play_ _with_ for much longer. Be patient."

Hazael sighed. "Alright, fine."

He had been patient before, he could do so now. Besides, the stupid boy could make up the workload when he was able to do so again. Sick or no, he wasn't getting off free.

 _She was fading faster, and Luke reached out for her. "Where are you going?!"_

 _Kalira stretched towards in return, but their fingers stopped just shy of touching. "Don't believe everything he tells y..."_

" _Kalira!" Luke shouted desperately, straining to feel her one last time and wondering why she was disappearing. The grass all around was now shot through with growing, scorching patches of sand, drying up and withering away right before his eyes. "No, come back! Kalira!"_

" _...love you Luke..." her barely-there voice murmured before she and the grass were gone completely._

" _NOO!"_

Luke's body jerked and then went limp a final time as the medic's sedative finally claimed him.

"He will need four days rest minimum. If you work him before then, I will refuse to help you any further, understood?" The medic gave his friend a pointed look. "Even I can only do so much."

Hazael nodded. "Looks like I have no choice. Thank you for your help as always."

The medic smirked. "You do pay well, and your generous offer to allow me to design new medical instruments with your metal will make me richer than I could have ever dreamed. I can retire early, take the Missus on a looong trip." He dragged out the second to last word eagerly.

Hazael slapped him on the back. "Won't she like that? A happy wife is a happy household, right?"

The other laughed heartily and they left Luke's slave quarters.

 **00000**

Padmé's comlink went off at some point during the meeting, and she hurriedly silenced it, annoyed at the intrusion. However, a few seconds later it rang a second time, alerting the woman to the fact that it just _might_ be important. Excusing herself graciously to the other senators, Padmé moved to the back corner and answered the call. "Senator Skywalker."

" _Senator, this is Assistant Principal Hameilia Airhart,_ " the woman said succinctly. " _Please forgive the interruption into your day, Ma'am, but did you keep your daughter home sick today?_ "

Padmé blinked. "No, I dropped her off to school myself. Why do you ask?"

" _Madam Senator, I'm afraid Leia has not been in class all morning._ " Padmé sucked in a breath. " _Her instructor thought it odd and alerted me as soon as he could. We heard from your son's preschool teacher that she dropped her brother off at class, but hasn't been seen since._ "

"What?!" Padmé cried, drawing several startled glances from her fellow senators, but Padmé ignored them. "What do you mean she's not been there? Where could she have gone?"

" _We don't know Senator, that is why we are calling,_ " Airhart replied mildly. " _I already have our security personnel checking video logs to see if we can't pick her up on the school cameras. That way we can see when she left and maybe where she went._ "

Padmé closed her eyes, managing to reply calmly, though inwardly she was deeply worried. "Thank you. Please keep me informed."

" _Of course,_ " Airhart answered, disconnecting.

Padmé turned to her friends and began walking towards the room's door. "Please forgive me, but something has come up, and I must leave immediately."

She was to the door when Bail Organa laid a careful hand on her shoulder. "Padmé, what's the matter?"

"Leia's missing!" Padmé hissed, concerned. "She didn't go to class today... oh Bail, she could be _anywhere!_ "

Bail's eye widened. "I can help; I have security of my own I can have look for her."

"Thank you, but let me speak with my husband first," Padmé replied. "Anakin can find his daughter, I'm certain of it."

"Alright, let me know if you need my help," Bail insisted, letting her go.

"Thank you Bail."

 **00000**

Anakin slid into the seat across from Obi Wan, who already had a plate of something hot in front of him. "Thank you for meeting with me."

Obi Wan lifted a brow. "It's not often you call me up like that, Anakin. What's the problem?"

Anakin smirked. "Right to the point, eh Master? No ribbing me?"

Obi Wan rolled his eyes. "It's early. Get on with it, young one."

Anakin snorted but did get down to business. "I'm worried about Leia. She isn't acting like herself, and something has her frightened... so much so that she won't go near water."

Obi Wan's fork paused partway to his mouth. "Come again?"

"Something happened last night, something that spooked her away from water." Anakin explained. "She didn't even shower today, and I think she completely forgot brushing her teeth. But then she nearly had a total meltdown over a sink of water."

Obi Wan lowered his utensil. "What do you think happened?" He frowned deeply. "And _overnight?_ "

Anakin sighed. "I found her bed in disarray, and she had obviously been sleeping in the recliner we have in her room. I thought it was just a nightmare, but would that be strong enough to scare her so completely?"

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes, hearing what Anakin _wasn't_ saying aloud. "You think it could have been more than just a dream?"

Anakin bit his lip. "Do you think it's possible for a child that young to have visions?"

His former master leaned back in the booth, one hand rising to thoughtfully stroke his beard. Anakin glanced up when the serving droid arrived to take his order. He asked for a drink and the droid departed, returning soon after with said item.

Anakin sipped it and at last Obi Wan began to answer. "I don't know Anakin, not for certain, but if you think your daughter is having visions, you should look deeper into it."

"I tried to get her to open up this morning, but she was so closed off it hurt." Anakin stared into the drink he'd been given. "She was too afraid to even talk to me about... whatever it is that's going on. I mean, what could possibly be _that_ bad?"

Obi Wan gave his friend a look. "Anakin, she's a child. Things are always different for children. But you need to follow up with this, especially if it's causing such trouble."

Anakin's reply was cut off by his comlink chirping urgently. He sighed at the intrusion, but the Force rippled as he clicked the device on. "Skywalker."

"Anakin!" Padmé's harried voice answered, making him straighten.

"Padmé? What's wrong?"

"Anakin where are you?" Padmé asked.

"I'm at Dex's, why?"

"Leia is missing!" Padmé exclaimed. "I'm heading home to get Captain Panaka: he and the men can spread out and help search for her."

Anakin was already on his feet and making for the door, Obi Wan not far behind, though the other Jedi had enough presence of mind to pay the bill.

"I'll go look for her too," Anakin declared. "Let me know if you find anything, and I'll do the same for you."

"Anakin..." Padmé whispered, parental fear clearly ringing in her tone.

"We will find her, Padmé." Anakin promised. "Have faith, Angel."

"I believe you," Padmé answered.

"Good. I love you." Anakin told his wife.

"I love you too. I'll call you later."

Obi Wan came even with Anakin as he arrived at his speeder. "I'll help."

"Thank you, Obi Wan." Anakin hopped in the speeder and then paused. Where did he even start?


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

 **(** **A/N** **:** _This chapter gets a little dark. It's not quite 'M' rated dark, though it gets intense._ **)**

Dr. Hoolt stared at her young patient, trying to make sense of what she'd just been told. Finally she leaned forward slightly.

"So you have been having dreams of someone who could be your twin brother... who has been deceased for nearly a decade now. And you are," she consulted the notes that she'd been taking on her datapad during Leia's long explanation, "afraid of them?"

Leia swallowed nervously. "Yes. I don't know why it frightens me to dream of Luke, but it does. Especially the night-terrors I get once a year."

The Fosh woman tilted her head. "Night-terrors?"

Leia looked down at her clasped hands, trying and failing not to fidget. "Yes."

Dr. Hoolt considered this. "May I ask what these nightmares consist of? It could possibly help me determine where your fear comes from."

Leia bit her lip. "I... I guess that makes sense." She paused, gathering herself. "Well... okay. This most recent one I had was of him being... d-drowned. But I never see his tormentor's face. All I see is a tall figure, never do I see his identity clearly enough to figure out who it is hurting him. But Luke was drowned in a bathtub, nearly to the point of... of d-dying!"

Leia shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as she remembered. "I... I remember him screaming, and it being cut off by water entering his m-mouth and nose! A-and then the person hurting him just kept doing it... until the cruel bath was over!"

She collapsed against the cushion of her seat with a gasp of air. "Please tell me that was enough to help!"

Hoolt considered once more, clacking her beak gently in a thoughtful manner. "Forgive me for answering question with a question, but do these nightmares cause negative reactions during your day?"

Leia nodded. "This last one did. I... I'm a little scared of water right now. I don't want anything to do with it!"

Hoolt perked up at that admission. "I see. And this particular dream was that vivid?"

"Yes! It felt so real!" Leia exclaimed. "Why did it feel real?"

The Fosh woman ran a hand over her feathered head. "I suppose the particular actions in this nightmare settled into your subconscious and caused you to react as if it had been you in the dream."

"Huh?" Leia asked, her young mind trying to compute all the fancy words.

The doctor sighed. "Your mind tricked you into believing the event happened to you. Thus your fear."

"Oh," Leia whispered. "So it _wasn't_ real?"

Dr. Hoolt eyed the child. "I would normally say no, but I don't know if you inherited your father's Force abilities. And I admit I don't know much about the Jedi way of things. So perhaps that is a question best asked of a Jedi?"

Leia frowned. "What does that mean? Why would the Force be a factor?"

Hoolt scooted forward in her seat. "Leia, I am going to hold off on that answer and instead give you a solution I believe will work to possibly give you better answers, or even to stop these dreams. You told me you hadn't talked to your parents of these dreams, correct?"

Leia nodded confirmation.

"Okay. I want you to go home and tell them tonight, no matter how hard you think it will be or how they will react. Tell them everything, tell the truth, and let them help you. Especially your father. Perhaps he will have... different insights from my own."

Leia shifted uncomfortably. "B-but... I came to you so I wouldn't _have_ to do that!"

Hoolt set her datapad down. "My child, you came to me for _help_. And if you will not accept my guidance, then you have wasted both your time and money. This is my recommendation, and if you will not do as I ask, then I can do nothing more for you."

Leia let that sink in. "But what if the truth hurts them? I don't want them to be sad because of me."

Hoolt nodded. "I can understand that. But have you ever thought that maybe you keeping this from them could be hurting them far more?"

Leia gasped. "How so?"

"What if these dreams could bring your parents... happiness? Well, most of them. I'm not entirely certain of the nightmares, though from what you told me, perhaps they are a byproduct of the anniversary of your brother's passing. You would have an elevated level of stress, which would generate bad dreams. You expect them, so you have them."

Leia met the woman's gaze, and then sighed, nodding. "Okay. Thank you for seeing me, Dr. Hoolt. I am sorry if I was rude before."

The woman smiled softly. "Don't worry about it. You are free to go, since you already paid."

"Alright." Leia stood and exited the room.

 **00000**

Anakin turned to Obi Wan after nearly an hour of fruitless searching. Anakin was trying to read the Force, but his daughter had the natural ability to shield her presence, which made it difficult for him to find her amidst the literal sea of presences that was Coruscant.

"How do I find her Obi Wan?" he asked in exasperation. "Padmé is at the school retracing Leia's steps already, but I can't focus right now."

Obi Wan lifted a brow. "That's your problem. Let go of your concern over her safety for a moment and let the Force guide you."

Anakin closed his eyes. "I've been doing that, but with no success."

"Have you?" his friend asked knowingly.

Anakin gritted his teeth. "Okay, no. But I just don't understand what is going on with her. She's already off balance today, what if something happens to her while she's out and about?"

Obi Wan placed a hand on his friend's arm. "You will just need to trust that Leia can take care of herself enough to stay ahead of trouble."

Anakin thinned his lips, looking out over the city. "She may be smart, and gifted, but she's still only ten."

But he did as Obi Wan asked and cleared his mind, though it took an effort. He opened himself deeply to the Force, listening to it whisper to him.

 _Go south..._

Anakin's eyes sprang open and he took control of the speeder once more. After checking for an opening, Anakin turned the speeder around until he was on a southern heading.

 **00000**

Leia stood frozen on the steps of the building she'd just left, her hood up once more. It was far later in the day than she had realized, she hadn't counted on being out this late... it was well after lunch now.

And the street was far busier than before... and packed with a greater abundance of scarier-looking people too. Leia trembled with the knowledge that she had to walk home. No, not home; she had to make it back to school before her parents found out she hadn't been there all day.

Leia glanced at her chrono and let out a little cry of dismay. If she didn't leave _right now_ she would miss the chance to be at school before her parents found out. Without stopping to think it over, Leia plunged into the throng of persons, doing her best to follow the map backwards along the route she'd come along to get here.

Leia tried to keep her eyes on only the map and where she was going, studiously avoiding eye contact. But the bustling crowd was only making her more and more nervous until she resorted to holding her map with one hand, and gathering her robe tightly to her with the other.

Leia walked this way for a long while, thinking that she was making great progress and would be back just in time. She had just allowed hope to take hold of her once again when the arm grasping the map was suddenly run into by a man trying to skirt around someone else.

The map was ripped from her grasp and Leia shrieked, surging forward to snatch it up. But the mass of feet kicked it here and there, preventing Leia from reclaiming her only sure way home.

Leia also got jostled about the busy walkway until she grew disoriented, unable regain her bearings. She couldn't see over anyone and she had no reference points anymore. The little girl broke out in a frazzled sweat, her eyes roaming over faces, many of them harsh and uncaring.

Leia's chest worked unevenly and she was growing tired, but the busy crowd paid her no heed as she was force to move with the flow of the crowd first one way, then another... and another...

When she finally caught a break, somehow managing to get her feet back under her, Leia sprinted to the edge of the walkway. When she caught a glimpse of the buildings the girl's heart sank to her toes.

She had absolutely no idea where she was... which way she had come from... and nothing looked familiar to her. She couldn't see anything that she had passed earlier in the day, and several of the buildings looked like they were meant for adults only.

Leia couldn't help but cry, and she wished desperately that she had thought to bring a comlink with her. Leia's head snapped up. Wait! She _had_ packed one! Her mother and father had given her a comlink to use for emergencies, one she was to keep on her person at all times regardless.

How could she have forgotten it?

Leia didn't dare bring it out of her pocket in this crowd lest it get lost like her map. Shaking in fear, Leia retreated to hide in an alley that was somehow scarier than the street had been.

It wasn't until she happened to look to her left that she realized she had stopped right next to a shady building with bright pink neon and several posters with images on it that Leia was certain she wasn't _ever_ supposed to see.

The windows were blacked out and there were several seedy men of a few different species standing out front. And they were looking at her in a way that made her blood frost over. Leia backed away, trembling uncontrollably, until her shoulders hit a wall.

Leia didn't think to look where she was going when, as two of the men straightened as if to approach her, Leia bolted deeper into the alley. She tripped over soemthig partway in and felt the skin on her knees and hands burn on the rough ground as she landed.

Breaking out into frightened tears, Leia scrambled up and raced away again, hearing feet shuffling over. SHe glanced over her shoulder to see the same two men ambling closer, and she screamed, turning back around... and running straight into a burly Weequay.

"Hey watch it!" the female alien snapped viciously.

"S-s-sorry," Leia stammered, scampering away and losing her way even more as she ended up in dark, moist alleys which were blocked from above from any source of natural light.

Nearly sobbing, Leia found a likely place to hide and fumbled for her comlink. Her fingers were shaking so heavily she almost couldn't dial the needed comm. codes, but finally she got it to work.

A ping indicated the call had connected, and Leia spoke in a desperate, quavering voice. "D-Daddy?"

 **00000**

Anakin had just turned again at the Force's direction and was landing in a parking area when his comlink went off. Thinking it was his wife, Anakin snatched it from his belt, but before he could get it to his lips, a scared voice sounded forth from the device.

" _D-Daddy?_ "

"Leia!" Anakin exclaimed. "Princess, are you alright?"

" _No!_ " Leia cried, and Anakin could hear the sniffles she didn't even try to hide. " _Daddy I'm lost a-and so s-scared!_ "

Anakin closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath so he could think properly. "I'm already out looking for you. Where are you? What's the last thing you remember seeing?"

" _I... I went to s-see Dr. Hoolt, and then I was w-walking home and I l-lost my m-map,_ " Leia explained. " _Then I got lost in the crowd a-and now I'm in an alley, b-but I don't know where! B-but there's scary men Dad, a-and they looked like they w-were f-f-following me!_ "

Anakin's protective instincts flared to hot life. "Leia, I need you to tell me the last building you saw."

" _A building with pink neon lights and men sitting outside, it had signs of... n-naked women..._ " Anakin swore colorfully, " _a-and then I panicked and went deeper into the alley without thinking and now I can't even see the sky!_ "

Anakin glanced to Obi Wan beside him, who was looking up businesses in the area that would fit Leia's description. "Leia, listen to me. I need you to stay where you are. Can you find some place to hide until Uncle Obi Wan and I can get to you?"

" _I'm already h-hiding Dad!_ " Leia whimpered.

"Okay, good. Don't move! I need you to do something else for me."

" _What?_ "

"I need you to use the Force and try to open your mind some more. Pretend like you are lifting a blanket off your mind."

There was a pregnant pause, during which Obi Wan lifted his datapad, his face grim, and showed Anakin where he thought Leia could be. Anakin had to consciously restrain himself from breaking the comlink when his grasp on it tightened.

His daughter was in a particularly run-down neighborhood known for its violence and vile, but unfortunately— mostly— legal businesses. And that included strip clubs that had no qualms about taking in people that cared nothing for the age of the 'exclusive'— or hidden, unknown— performers. They had to get to Leia... and fast.

Leia's voice came back. " _I tried Dad, is that better?_ "

Anakin smiled with pride despite the situation when he felt her presence suddenly flare up like a homing beacon to him. "That's perfect, Princess. I'm coming, I promise! Do _not_ move from where you are!"

As he and Obi Wan broke out in to a run, Leia replied. " _Okay... but Daddy... I'm scared!_ "

Anakin's heart cracked. "I know, Princess. But I need you to be brave a little longer. I'll be right there! I love you!"

" _I love you too, Dad!_ " Leia whispered, and then the line went dead.

Anakin place his comlink away and glanced at Obi Wan. "We still have four blocks to cover."

"I know," the other Jedi said. "You've got a lock on her though?"

"Yes. Follow me!"

 **00000**

Leia trembled where she sat, eyes closed as she curled tightly into a ball, still weeping but trying to be silent so she didn't attract unwanted attention. She thought she heard something and froze.

Her father couldn't already be there, could he? It hadn't been _that_ long.

Leia bit her lip and risked taking a peek around the wall of her little niche. It wasn't her father, or even her uncle Obi Wan... it was the pair of men from the pink neon building. When the lustful eyes caught sight of Leia, she gasped. Sinking back into her hideout, Leia prayed that she didn't have to deal with those two men.

But their footsteps grew louder and one of them began speaking. "Hey there girlie... what's a pretty gal like you doing down here?"

"She looks like she belongs to the upper class, eh Gid?" his fellow chimed in.

"That she does Flinn."

Leia shook where she was, recalling her father's instructions to stay put. But if she did, these two would hurt her, she could feel that in the Force. Leia heard it tell her to get up and she did so, sprinting from her hiding place with a loud scream... especially when the men lunged for her.

"Get back here girlie!" Gid growled.

" _DAAAD!_ " Leia shrieked. The men chased her and Leia began sobbing hysterically.

She dodged them the best she could, but they were bigger and faster, and soon they caught her and threw the child up against the wall. Leia struggled wildly, kicking and punching. She managed to hit one of them in the stomach, and he howled, backhanding her.

Stunned from the force of the attack, Leia saw stars, her struggles momentarily lessening. When they leaned further in, Leia screamed bloody murder, trying desperately to draw any attention she could.

 **00000**

Anakin felt the danger in the Force, following right on the heels of Leia's terror, and he swore viciously, breaking into a full sprint. "Obi Wan _hurry!_ "

Hearing Anakin's tone, Obi Wan didn't question him. They sped along, the crowd merely a blur as they raced to get to Leia before she was hurt. Anakin steamrolled into the alley, still following his daughter's presence like a predator locked onto its prey.

Halfway into the dark place they heard a petrified scream and Anakin's temper flared. He enhanced his speed with the Force and took each corner like he was in a pod race. When the scene finally came into view, Anakin let out a bellow of fury and used the Force to rip the two men away from his struggling child.

" _Get away from my daughter!_ " Anakin thundered.

The two glared murder at him and tried to straighten, but Anakin delivered a right-hook into each of their faces, gratified to hear a few of the mens' teeth hit the ground.

Obi Wan caught up then and swiftly gathered Leia into his arms to keep her safe should the men try anything else. Anakin was breathing heavily and Obi Wan grew concerned, especially when the younger man took a threatening step forward. "Anakin!"

At the sharp warning, Anakin stopped, but his lightsaber lit in his grasp, bathing the trio in blue light. As the men huddled on the ground looked up in terror, Anakin loomed over them. "If you _ever_ come near my daughter or another child like this again, I _will_ kill you! Do you understand?"

"Y-yes." Gid stammered while Flinn nodded vigorously.

Anakin stepped back and the two scampered away like vermin, looking over their shoulders to be certain Anakin wasn't following them. It wasn't until they were gone that Anakin picked up on Leia's sobbing.

He instantly put his lightsaber away and raced over to where Obi Wan held her. "Leia!"

"Dad!" Leia bawled, flinging herself from Obi Wan's grasp and into Anakin's. "Dad! Dad!"

Anakin sank to his knees, crushing Leia to his chest as tears of his own slipped free. He tried not to think of what had almost happened, instead focusing on the fact that they had made it in time, and she was now safe.

Obi Wan stood protectively nearby, watching their backs while the reunion took place.

"You're safe now, Leia!" Anakin promised her fervently. "I won't ever let anyone harm you like that, if it means my life!"

Leia clutched him tighter. "Please take me home! I... I don't want to be here anymore!"

Anakin nodded, standing with her still clutched in his embrace. He was fully prepared to carry Leia all the way back to the speeder, ten years old or not. His daughter needed him.

 **00000**

The ride home was silent, except for Obi Wan making the call to Padmé, who promised to meet her husband and daughter at home. Obi Wan agreed to take Ijon out to the park while the Skywalker adults spoke with Leia.

Leia was silent and teary-eyed the entire time, and Anakin's heart was heavy, but he was more determined than ever now to get to the bottom of things. Especially after what had just happened.

When they arrived at the Skywalker residence, Anakin helped his daughter from the speeder and walked with her to sit on the couch. Obi Wan remained outside to wait for Padmé. She arrived minutes later, and as soon as the youngest Skywalker was in his uncle's care, Padmé sprinted inside.

"Leia?!" Her gaze fell upon the girl tucked to her father's side, and Padmé rushed forward as Leia leaned forward to accept her mother's desperate embrace.

"Mom!" Leia whispered.

"Oh Leia, you had us so worried!" Padmé exclaimed. "Please, Sweetheart, don't _ever_ do something like this again!"

Leia only nodded, dreading having to tell her parent the truth she knew they now deserved.

Padmé caressed Leia's head and then moved back so she could kiss her forehead. "I love you Leia."

"I love you too, both of you." Leia wiped at her face. "And I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause such a big problem!"

Anakin took her hand and Leia looked up to him. "We know you didn't. But Leia, it's time for you to tell us what's really going on. Why did you go off alone? And why are you acting so... off? You nearly panicked over a sink if water before school."

Padmé's startled glance met his, and Anakin shook his head minutely, telling her to wait until later, when he would explain what he knew. She nodded once and the pair of them looked to their daughter, who was trying not to look at them now.

In fact, she was picking at her pants in a most un-Leia like manner.

Padmé pulled up a sitting chair and settled into it facing her husband and daughter. "Leia, you can tell us anything, we won't judge you."

Leia nodded. "I know... that's not what I'm afraid of."

Her parents shared a look, and Anakin tried to gently tip her chin up. Leia hesitated, and then allowed it. "What are you afraid to tell us?"

"The truth," Leia whispered, meeting his eyes hesitantly. "I... I don't want to bring you or Mother pain..."

Anakin caressed her cheek in a fatherly manner. "Princess, I don't want you to fear talking to us, no matter what. If it's painful, alright. We will deal with it as a family, like we're supposed to do."

Leia sniffled, and then closed her eyes. "Promise not to get mad at me?"

"We promise," Anakin whispered.

Leia took a deep breath, making an attempt to calm down enough to speak clearly. Her voice was small, timid, but she at long last admitted the truth. "I have been having dreams... dreams of a little boy my age. He has blond hair, blue eyes... a-and I think it's Luke."

Her parents both went still, sharing a shocked look after several silent seconds, but Leia continued before she lost her courage. "Most of them are not all that bad, but for some reason they still frighten me. But ever year on the day Luke... d-died, I get night terrors of him... of bad thing happening to him. This has happened for the last f-five years."

She couldn't meet her parents' gazes now and she waited for them to react, to speak... _something_.

Anakin was the first to find his voice. "That's why you were afraid of water earlier. Because of these... nightmares?"

"Just this last one," Leia corrected softly, her eyes spilling over again. "I... it felt so real... b-but I don't know how that could be!"

Anakin swallowed, reaching over to take his wife's stiff hand in his as a supporting gesture before he spoke further. "Tell me of this last nightmare, please."

Leia gulped, but did so, leaving nothing out; telling everything, from the sights, sounds, the drowning, the way Luke had been bathed, the lack of an identity of his tormentor, everything. She was trembling yet again by the time she'd finished, and sat slumped.

Anakin had to use a considerable amount of control to remain calm, and he wondered if he would break down later. Probably. "Thank you for telling me. What of the other nightmares?"

Leia began to cry harder, but obeyed. "One of them was of the man beating Luke so much he nearly died... in another, Luke was forced to watch as a dark-haired woman was murdered, and he took it terribly hard... and then there was one where he was tortured just because his tormentor's doctor friend needed to perform some t-tests."

Padmé could contain her emotions no longer and she cried out, putting her face into her hands and sobbing to hear such things of her boy, even if he _was_ dead. But then a terrible notion made her heart stop for several terrifying seconds.

What if these weren't just _dreams_?

But Padmé dismissed it. Luke was dead. She had seen his body, had held it in her arms... had buried it on Naboo.

Leia, upon hearing and seeing her mother's reactions, released a hiccupped sob. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I... this is what I was trying to avoid! I didn't want to hurt you!"

Anakin shook his head and took both of his daughter's hands in his. "No. Don't apologize, Leia. You cannot control your dreams, and sometimes we have dreams we cannot explain."

"B-but why do they f-feel so real, Daddy?!" Leia pled. "Wh-when Luke was being drowned, I thought I was being drowned! And when I woke up, I felt my sweaty arms and bed and I panicked, thinking I was back in the tub!"

Anakin closed his eyes tightly. "I don't know, Princess."

He actually _did_ have a thought, but he denied it. His boy _wasn't_ alive... Anakin knew that for a fact.

"Leia, we all know Luke is gone. And I don't know why you keep having dreams of him. Maybe you are just wising for him back." Anakin's voice broke. "We all want him back."

"But if I want him back, and that's all it is, why the nightmares?" Leia pressed earnestly. "Dr. Hoolt said it could be stress, but the nightmares feel _real_!"

Anakin shook his head helplessly. "Princess I'm sorry... I just don't know."

Leia squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed more heavily. "I... I-I want m-my b-brother b-back!"

Padmé and Anakin shared a heart-broken look and ten Padmé shifted to sit on Leia's other side. Together her parents embraced Leia so that she as between them.

"We want him back too, Leia," Padmé wept. "We loved him so, so much, our little Luke!"

Anakin nodded in agreement, unable to speak.

The trio wept until they were spent, at which point they simply sat together, drawing comfort from that alone.


	7. Chapter 6

**(A/N: This chapter was revised at the very end for those of you who may have just read.)**

 **Chapter Six:**

He wasn't happy. Not at all. Hazael would have taken his fury out on the runt of a boy if he was conscious, but the worthless child was still sleeping. Despite his promise to his medic friend, Hazael had removed the sedative shortly after the doctor had left, so the child and he had been able to have a nice... _talk_. One in which Hazael had assured the boy what awaited him on at the end of his multi-day hiatus from his chores.

Unfortunately, there were three more days to go... which meant that Hazael would have to postpone his planned trip to Coruscant. All because his slave had to get sick on the job.

Hazael paced agitatedly, thinking of how he would have to rearrange a lot of things... but on the flip side, this allowed him to make a personal trek to his mines. It also gave him more time to prepare his plans for the boy and his family.

Hazael considered and then made up his mind. He would go to the mines, and take a tour of his facility to make sure everything was running as smoothly as his second in command assured him it was.

He grinned to think of the look on Thew's face when Hazael showed up out of the blue.

In a much better mood, Hazael pounded on the door to his slave's room, announcing his arrival. The child woke groggily, his eyes slightly bleary. Hazael snorted with disgust and bent close, smirking when the child shied away fearfully.

"I am going away for a few days, Runt. However, I expect you to do _something_ while I am gone. The good doctor said you can't be worked... well, I say you can be. He won't know, and _nobody_..." he leered threateningly over the child to sell his point, "is going to tell him, _right?_ "

The child swallowed visibly, shaking his head, and Hazael looked him over. "You start back on your routine tomorrow. If I come back in two days time to find you haven't cleaned this house properly, you _will_ regret it, do you understand?"

The slave boy nodded silently, and Hazael straightened. "I will leave you unchained for these two days and set a timer onto your door. It will unlock to let you out in the morning, and you will be back in here at night. Understand?"

Luke dipped his head, and Hazael turned to leave. "See you in forty-eight hours."

 **00000**

It was now well into the evening, and both their children were at last asleep. Anakin entered the master bedroom to find his wife, dressed in her nightgown standing before one of the large windows. She had her arms wrapped loosely about her, and her gaze held a faraway look he had seen many times in the first year after their beloved Luke's death.

Anakin sensed her distress, her sorrow, and sympathized. He felt the same way after all.

Removing his tunic and boots, Anakin moved over to Padmé and tucked a stray chocolate curl behind her ear. After a moment, he spoke softly. "Are you alright?"

Padmé didn't answer right away, and Anakin didn't really expect her to. He knew her well enough to know when not to push her too far. She wasn't ignoring him, Anakin knew. She was just processing before she spoke; it was one way Padmé coped with reality.

Fully ready to wait, but wishing to offer support nonetheless, Anakin remained at her side, quiet and patient. It was quite some time before Padmé turned to him, and when she spoke, it was with the tone of someone afraid to hope but wishing desperately to do so.

"Anakin..." Padmé hesitated, and he turned to her, remaining open and receptive. "What are we supposed to do about this? I don't know how to feel about Leia having these dreams... especially the nightmares."

Anakin nodded slowly. "I don't either."

Padmé continued in the same voice. "Ani... is there _any_ chance... that we were wrong? I mean... we held Luke's l-lifeless body!" Her voice cracked, but she plunged onward, determined. "We buried him... the doctors checked him... but..."

Padmé broke off, turning around and Anakin saw tears now slipping down her face. He stepped closer once again and tenderly wiped at the moisture.

"You wonder if we misread something. Were we wrong somehow?" He finished for her. Her eyes sought out his and she nodded before he continued. "I've wondered that too since Leia told us. But I don't see what we could have missed: we had the body, doctors confirmed the cause of death, his DNA matched, I just... I can't make sense of why Leia is dreaming of Luke."

Padmé bit her lip. "Unless it's _not_ him. What if, in her young, hurting state, Leia somehow unknowingly created this little boy to replace Luke?" Padmé sighed, harried. "I don't know: we're grasping at straws, Anakin, we really are."

Her husband reached up to clasp her biceps gently. "I know. It's possible your theory could be correct. It makes sense if you think about it. But I don't see how we could have been wrong."

Padmé suddenly grasped his face, leaning in to stare into his eyes with a fervor that might have taken him aback any other time. "Tell me these aren't visions, Anakin... tell me Luke is dead... really dead..."

Anakin's heart cracked, and he closed his eyes briefly. "I... I don't know what these dreams are stemming from, truthfully, but how could Luke _not_ be dead? What further proof do we need, Padmé?"

Padmé pulled back. "Then why does the Force allow us to be tortured so? Why can't Leia get the peace she so desperately needs? And why the nightmares?"

Anakin pulled his frazzled wife close to his heart, kissing her head while his eyes leaked now too. "I wish I knew... but I don't have any concrete answers Padmé. I wish I did, but I don't."

Padmé clung to him, and together they wept until Anakin picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and then settled in next to her. Gently, Anakin tugged his wife close to him, urging her to snuggle with him, her head to his chest. Padmé gave in willingly, and once they were nestled together he pulled the sheets over them.

"No matter what, we will love the children we still have, and do our best to move on despite Luke's loss," Anakin murmured. "But we can't keep letting this weigh us down so much. I don't mean to sound cruel, but... we have to let Luke go at some point." He was saying the words, but Anakin didn't truly feel them.

"...I'm not ready to let him go," Padmé whimpered.

Anakin's throat closed, and he admitted to his own hypocrisy. "Neither am I."

 **00000**

Luke stood in Hazael's room, cleaning supplies in hand. His attention, however, was on the hidden room he knew was beyond the far wall. Luke had cleaned this house top to bottom every day of his life since he was five; he knew it intimately despite Hazael's attempts to keep his slave as uneducated as possible.

It was impossible to deep clean a house like he did daily and _not_ learn its secrets. Luke knew of the woman Hazael kept, and he knew full well what her sole purpose was. He may have only been ten, but he wasn't stupid.

There had been times during Luke's morning deep cleans that Hazael had put his slave woman to use, and Luke had been the unwilling witness. He had heard things, seen them on accidental occasion, and he had tried each time not to be sick.

Not only that, but Luke had heard her through the vents some nights— their rooms were connected by a length of ventilation, he had discovered the first night he'd heard her— weeping in her solitude, speaking as if to some deity about why she was made to suffer like she was. Luke had listened in, feeling slightly guilty about eavesdropping, but really having no choice. He hadn't had the heart to answer her, though he _had_ listened all the same. And... he understood her pain.

But unlike Luke, _she_ wasn't completely trapped here.

By some miracle she had never been chipped, and after his dream of Kalira, Luke had determined to help this woman, not wanting her to share Kalira's fate. He knew full well what he would be doing to himself by helping her escape, but Luke was resolute... and yet the larger part of him was numb to it. Hazael punished him for anything and everything, and no one cared about the worthless pile of bones wasting away within the walls of Hazael's house.

And if he somehow found motivation to try deceiving his master, Luke could play this to his advantage if he was careful. Even if Hazael didn't buy his story, the woman in the hidden room would be long gone by the time Hazael found out she was missing.

Decided, Luke set his supplies down and moved to Hazael's dresser. Knowing the man kept a secret stash of credits there, Luke took enough to get the woman food, shelter, and passage offworld and then pulled out a pair of Hazael's clothes to give her.

After that he stuffed them in an empty bread bag from the kitchen and returned to the master bedroom. Manipulating a particular item on the man's bookshelf, Luke opened her door and waited for it to open fully.

The woman was sitting stiffly on her bed, yet when she saw not her tormentor but a thin, starved child she gaped. "Who are _you?_ "

"I am no one," Luke answered without emotion. "Get up."

She did as he asked, and Luke motioned for her to follow him, though he tossed her a second set of Hazael's clothes. She caught them and stared, perplexed at the items. "What are these for?"

Luke lifted a brow. "To wear. There isn't any women's clothing here, so this is what you have available."

Her frown deepened. "What's going on?"

"Put them on!" Luke snapped, surprising even himself, and she was so taken aback that she obeyed. Once she was dressed Luke began walking, forcing her to follow. They traversed the house, and the woman looked around often.

"Where is Hazael?" she asked suspiciously.

"At the mines," Luke replied flatly.

"Oh," she murmured. "What are the mines?"

"A place far worse than this if you can believe it," Luke whispered. And he meant it. He had it hard here, it was true, but at least he had a clean room to sleep in, didn't have to fear for the safety of his family if he didn't work, and he hadn't been forced to live underground where no one would care or know if he died.

 _No, I just live in a_ room _no one knows exists... and no one cares that_ I _exist so why should I try reaching out?_ Luke thought morbidly.

They got to the front door and Luke opened it. Without warning, he grabbed the woman's wrist and pulled her to the opening. He shoved the bag into her grasp and then pushed her out into the open air.

"Go, be free."

She stopped dead. "What?"

"You heard me." Luke turned away from her, reaching for the door. "You don't have a chip, so you can't be killed for leaving. Go home, go somewhere else, I don't care."

She stared at him long and hard. "You're a slave here too... aren't you?"

Luke didn't answer, wondering how she couldn't figure that out by looking at his collar.

"Come with me," she said earnestly. "I can't just leave you here."

"Yes you can," Luke replied sourly. "And I can't leave. I have this collar, so he'd just activate it when he sees I left."

She eyed the device. "There must be a way to deactivate that thing."

"Hazael has the only way that isn't lethal," Luke sighed in annoyance. "Get out of here!"

She hesitated still. "You must have family somewhere, maybe I could..."

"I don't want anything to do with my family!" Luke growled, though a lone tear worked itself free of his control, telling a very different story. He turned his face away. "I know you mean well, but I am not wanted or loved by anyone, so it would be a waste of time. Why bother them when they don't want anything to do with me either? I will never be free of Hazael, I will never be worth anything, and I will never be loved and wanted."

The woman stepped forward as if to argue, mouth open, and Luke glared. Stepping up too, Luke turned her sharply around and shoved her roughly away.

"I said _go!_ Get out of here, and don't you dare come back!"

He shut the door on her protests, heart pounding in fear of his master's retribution despite his earlier conviction. But Luke _would not_ let this woman suffer the same fate as the only person who ever loved him.

Luke closed his eyes and sank to a sitting position against the wall, crying silently as he accepted yet again his lot in life. He was the lowest of the low, and his reason for existing was to be a punching bag and slave for his owner.

It didn't matter if some tiny sliver of his innocent self actually _did_ want something to do with his family. The rest of him didn't. They had abandoned him, given him up, replaced him, and left him to rot.

They didn't want or love him.

Luke eventually wiped at his face, shoved his troubles to the back of his mind and returned to work, making sure to hide all evidence of the woman's escape.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Leia sat beside her father in the speeder he used to go to and from the Jedi Temple, looking out over the cityscape as it flew by. She had asked her father if she could accompany him to the temple today since there wasn't any school, and she didn't want to stay home.

Anakin had agreed, but she knew he was curious why she'd chosen to come along.

At one point in their ride, her father glanced her way and spoke gently. "You know, I'm just going to get in some exercises and practice sessions."

Leia turned her head to him. "I know. But I like being at the Temple. I just want to be in a peaceful place. Not that I don't like home, but I also want a change of scenery."

Anakin smiled softly. "I understand, Princess. Also, you should consider if you want to pursue active training. You will be eligible for apprenticeship when you turn thirteen, and your eleventh lifeday is only a month away."

Leia hesitated. "I already have some training with you, Dad. I'm content with what you've taught me so far. I... I honestly don't know what I want to do yet."

Anakin placed a loving hand to her knee. "Well, you don't have to decide today, I just meant it's something to consider."

"Alright, I will," Leia promised, and her father smiled again, squeezing her knee before he released it to steer with both hands. Leia straightened when the Jedi Temple came into view, and watched it grow larger and larger until they entered one of the cavernous hangar bays. "I always did love coming here."

Anakin parked expertly and helped her out. "I know what you mean. My first time here I was in awe of its grandeur. It sort of lost some of its wonder after a while, but the Jedi Temple is one of my favorite places to be."

Leia held his hand openly, uncaring if anyone thought she was too old for such a thing. She had always been close with her father, and she wasn't ashamed to show it to the public. Why should she be?

They walked the halls until they came to the training room Anakin and Obi Wan used both separately and when they sparred. He then turned to his daughter. "You can explore, but you know which areas are off limits to you, right?"

"Yes Dad. I won't go where it's restricted, I promise." Leia assured him.

Anakin bent down to kiss her head. "I trust you Sweetheart. Have fun, but stay out of trouble."

"Thanks Dad." Leia watched him disappear inside the room and she was then left alone. At first she simply stood there, but at some point she started to meander aimlessly, simply walking while exploring her own mind.

She wandered for an unknown time, not truly paying attention to where she was going until she found herself at the entrance to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Leia smiled and entered without qualms.

She followed the main path almost eagerly, though she remained quiet and tried to be calm so she didn't accidentally disturb anyone who might be meditating. This area of the Temple was a Jedi hotspot for meditation.

Leia paused by one of the little brooks that wound a path through the gardens and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Leia allowed the peace of the room to fill her, opening herself to the Force as much as her limited skills would allow.

She caught a glimpse of her father's busy presence as he performed his exercises, but otherwise didn't disturb him. Leia also sensed the life within the Temple, but she pushed that aside and merely let the quiet, peaceful vibes wash over her.

The sensation soothed her troubled spirit and heart, so much so that Leia unconsciously noted a prompting in the Force and followed it. Eyes still shut, Leia allowed herself to trust the Force to guide her until she heard a gravelly voice.

"Young Leia, a pleasure to see you, it is."

Leia froze, startled. "Master Yoda?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"It is I," the little green Jedi answered with a smile for the girl. "Visiting the Jedi Temple are you? Hmm?"

"Yes Master Yoda." Leia hesitated, and then made to leave. "I'm really sorry I disturbed you, Master, I'll leave you be."

"Bothering me, you are not, young one." Yoda soothed her gently, gesturing for her to have a seat. "Would you like to join me?"

Leia opened her mouth to politely decline, but the prompting in the Force returned, and so she stayed. "Thank you Master Yoda."

She walked to his right side and sat cross-legged in the grass facing him. The Jedi Master contemplated her for a time, and Leia held still, remaining quiet. She had the feeling Yoda was evaluating her, and she was oddly okay with that in the moment. Besides, she trusted Yoda, and knew he would never harm her.

 **00000**

The next morning Luke wasn't awakened by the lights in his room coming on. There was no chrono in his prison cell, but his body was used to being woken up at the usual time, so he knew it was far earlier than he normally got up.

At first Luke didn't know what had brought him out of his fitful slumber, but he lay there, unable to return to sleep. He shifted restlessly in bed for a time before his eyes shut and he attempted to return to his dreams.

He's just started to relax when something whispered to him as if they were standing beside him, causing his eyes to snap open. Luke leapt from bed, thinking there was someone in his room, heart pounding.

He stood frozen for a full minute before he accepted that there was in fact no one there. Sighing heavily, Luke returned to his dirty mattress, thinking he'd just been hearing things. He _was_ really tired, after all. He'd not slept well lately aside from his unconscious spell, and his mind was playing tricks on him...

 _...won't have enough water to last the season if..._

Luke sucked in a breath, again jerking up in bed, though he remained on the mattress, eyes rapidly scanning the room. "H-hello?"

No response.

Befuddled, Luke very slowly lay back down but kept his eyes resolutely open. What was going on?

He lay rigid and waiting for another voice, but nothing came to him until he closed his eyes. This time he was gripped by the sensation of hunger that wasn't his own, followed by the urge to sneak some of the food from his classmates' lunches in the afternoon if his mother forgot to make him a lunch again.

Luke clutched the sheets tighter to his body, beginning to tremble as the the first trickles of fear wormed into his soul. What was going on?

When he continued to hear snippets of voices Luke got out of bed and physically walked his tiny room, making sure there really _wasn't_ someone there. When he came up empty handed, Luke wondered if his master had set something up to bother Luke while Hazael was gone.

 _That has to be it,_ Luke thought, grasping that notion because every other possibility frightened him far more. He was at least comfortable in knowing his hell. He knew how his master operated, and that brought him a disgusting amount of comfort, and he hated himself for it.

Luke tossed and turned for the rest of his sleep period, getting hardly any rest by the time the lights in his room _did_ come on.

With a loud groan, Luke forced himself to get up, and he made himself do his chores.

 **00000**

As they sat in companionable silence, Leia began to feel a strange ache in her head. She passed it off as nothing to worry about, thinking it was a headache from her past few stressful days.

After a while, Yoda spoke to her again. "Something is troubling you, is it not?"

Leia dipped her head. "Well, yes."

Yoda hummed. "Tell me, would you like to?"

Leia looked to him. "Tell you?"

Yoda nodded his aging head, and Leia pursed her lips thoughtfully. Maybe it would be nice to get the input from a wise Master such as Yoda. Straightening, Leia cleared her throat.

"Master Yoda, is it possible for me to have dreams or visions of someone who is... supposed to be dead?" Leia inquired.

Yoda's ears twitched upwards, and she watched him place a clawed hand to his chin. "Hmm, difficult to say, that is. Dreams you have had?"

"Yes." Leia confirmed. "Of Luke."

Leia watched the other's eyes widen in surprise. "Of your brother?"

"Yes Master Yoda. I'm sure it's him." Leia remained honest.

Yoda tilted his head, and Leia felt a tendril of the Jedi Master's Force energy touch her mind. She opened to him and let him see some of what she meant, and sensed his understanding.

"See what you mean, I do now," Yoda said after he'd finished.

"What do you think they could mean?" Leia asked while trying not to appear too eager.

Yoda pursed his lips. "A deep connection you had with your brother, your twin. Perhaps a consequence of that bond being severed so suddenly, these dreams are?"

Leia had never thought of that, but she had to admit that his reasoning sounded pretty solid, even to a child. The ache in her head pulsed somewhat, and she held back a hiss, rubbing surreptitiously at her temples. "I... guess that makes sense. But if they aren't real, then why do the night-terrors _feel_ so realistic?"

Yoda sighed. "Perhaps these dreams, tap into your Force potential, they do. But mysterious the Force can be, even to me. Strange this is, but understand you should, Leia, that bring back the dead, visions cannot."

Leia swallowed, looking down. "Do you think I am having the bad dreams— wait, you said _visions_?"

Yoda nodded. "Visions the night terrors are, though of what kind, I do not know. But dead your brother is, Leia. Gone from the Force he is. Sense him I do not, and have not since that day." He tilted his head. "Sensed him have _you_? Hmm?"

Leia's heart panged painfully. "No, Master. But... continuing my earlier question... could I be generating these visions by my wish to have Luke back?"

Yoda placed a hand to her own. "Possible it is, yes. Feeding from your emotions, the Force may be; reacting to you it could be."

"So if I accept Luke is gone and stop wishing for him back, the dreams and nightmares will stop?" Leia clarified.

"Likely, it is," Yoda replied gently. "Time, it is, Young Leia, to let go of the past. Controlling you now, it is, because cling to it you do. Hurting you, and your family, this is. Dangerous it can be if left unchecked for much longer." Yoda warned. He stood then. "One with the Force your brother is: accept this you must, if a future for _yourself_ you want."

Leia couldn't fight the tears that had crept up on her at Yoda's gentle, but firm counsel. He was telling her to let go of her brother and move on with her life, to accept that Luke was part of the Force and never coming back.

"I understand, Master. Thank you for talking with me," Leia whispered.

"Talk to me any time, you may, Young Leia." Yoda assured the child as he left her alone.

Leia listened to the _click...click_ of his gimer stick until it faded into silence, leaving her alone with her thoughts. And her persistent, if odd headache.

 **00000**

Luke was fully on edge part way through his cleaning of the house. He kept hearing voices, kept feeling things, and he had even unknowingly followed some sort of... hunch to find an object he'd lost weeks earlier.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, or if Hazael had rigged the entire house to torture Luke with voices and such. But how could Hazael fake a feeling? Luke could understand how he could falsify voices and even lead Luke to find the missing object. Hazael had probably hidden it with the plan to use it against Luke while he was gone today.

Luke kept telling himself these things, but somehow the boy knew he was lying to himself. He _somehow_ knew his master hadn't set up voices or a sadistic scavenger hunt. So if that wasn't the case, then what in the stars was happening to him?

Luke couldn't focus, and he was certain he was missing details in his cleaning, and he was way behind schedule on the job. He wouldn't finish until late afternoon at the rate he was going, but Luke couldn't help it: he was scared, he was starving and he was starting to feel sick from the influx of voices, feelings and everything else invading his senses.

 **00000**

Leia had dropped back into the Force, was doing her best to meditate like Obi Wan had taught her: he had given her lessons as well as Anakin over the years. It was as she was meditating that the ache in her mind kept trying to grab at her attention as if it wanted her to pay attention to it.

Leia studiously ignored it, recalling her uncle's lessons to let nothing interfere with her meditation if she could help it. She should open to the Force and let it tell her what it wanted. She was pretty sure a headache wasn't the Force talking to her.

Leia sighed and struggled to refocus when she realized her concentration had slipped. She was trying to let go of her brother... so why was she finding it so difficult when she was finally ready to do so?

Because Yoda had been correct: Leia was holding herself back by living in the past. She was hurting her parents too, and if she wasn't careful Ijon would also suffer, if he hadn't already. Leia did want a future, and she had to grow up and accept things like the adults did for that to happen.

Life wasn't fair, Leia knew that, and no amount of wishing on her end would bring her brother back from the dead. And she wanted the dreams to stop... because she wanted to stop being afraid all the time.

Leia wanted to be strong and courageous like her father, and to be strong-willed and sharp of tongue like her mother.

Leia growled low in her throat when the ache nagged at her constantly now, and she finally turned to it, hoping to deal with it and be done. What she expected to be simply an ache in a certain part of her mind turned out to be something far more...

And Leia froze, shocked beyond words and thought.

 **00000**

Luke yelped in alarm when he _felt_ something's attention come fully upon him, jumping nearly a foot in the air. Shaking full body now, Luke dropped his supplies and backed to the nearest wall, _still_ not understanding what was happening. He sank to the ground, utterly terrified by the certainty that _something_... or was it some _one_... was _looking_ at him.

Somehow.

He didn't know what to do, so he simply curled into a ball while he waited for the sensation to pass.

 **00000**

Leia gasped out of her shaken state of mind and she used the Force to reach for the presence she could _feel_... a presence that dwelt in a place that had lain dormant for nine long years.

Just before touching the presence, Leia hesitated, uncertain if the Force was playing some nasty trick on her. But when the presence didn't leave, but flickered as if it wasn't used to being aware or awake, Leia finally touched it. She kept the caress feather-light and tender as only one twin could touch another.

 **00000**

Luke sucked in a ragged breath when he _felt_ a touch... and he screamed, leaping to his feet and tearing through the house as if he could outrun it. He didn't know where else to go, so Luke raced for his room and threw himself upon the bed, where he shook heavily, frightened out of his mind and weeping as a result.

He wanted these odd occurrences to _stop!_

Almost as if he had been heard, the front door snapped open and his master's voice called through the house. "BOY!"

Luke cringed on his mattress, realizing he hadn't finished his chores... but also wondering why his master was back so soon. He wasn't due until tomorrow!

Luke scrambled from his bed when thundering footsteps came at him, and he was met at the door by Hazael. The man had a strange look in his eye, and he grabbed Luke by the hair, cranked his neck to the side, and slammed the needle to a syringe into his artery.

Luke screamed, flailing as the serum stung harsher than it ever had, and Hazael yanked the needle from his neck and grabbed Luke into a vice-like grip, one hand still in the boy's hair as he struggled.

"Let go of me!" Luke railed, kicking at the man that was holding him.

Hazael only tightened his grip, though he shifted one arm to fit around Luke's neck, effectively stopping his struggles until the pain of the serum faded. And with it the voices and odd sensations vanished as if they had never been.

"Wh-what..." Luke stammered, his mind reeling from the sudden silence, his ears ringing and his body quivering. "What w-was... wh-what h-happened t-to me?"

Hazael sighed as if he was about to tell Luke a grand secret. He released the child and Luke turned, rubbing at his neck as he stared in wide-eyed, fearful anticipation at his master.

"You hadn't had your serum, that's what was wrong." Hazael looked away momentarily, and then he met Luke's gaze, and he saw there for the first time a modicum of sympathy. "The drug I give you every morning keeps you healthy. You are a sick boy, Luke. You have a rare disease nobody knew how to cure. But I wasn't giving you up so I created this drug, this medicine to help you stay calm, safe. You are a danger to others when you hear those voices, because you turn violent and nasty."

Luke gaped. "I'm sick?"

"Yes. You are my slave, but even slaves deserve a chance of life, don't you think?" Hazael straightened, returning to his normal self. "I will allow this one day's incomplete chore list to slide. You were sick in a way you had no control over, and I won't punish you for being behind on the jobs. But tomorrow I expect the chores to be done normally."

Luke nodded; too relieved by the silence of mind and the rarity of such a gift from his master to question his good fortune. "I promise!"

Hazael had turned, so Luke never saw his nasty grin as he waltzed away, pleased with how quickly he had regained full control over the child.

 **00000**

 _Luke!_ She was feeling her brother! Leia _knew_ it was him!

... and he was _ALIVE!_

Leia balked when the presence suddenly cut off, and it was as if someone had snapped a rubber band inside her mind. Leia shrieked in momentary pain, panting... and then she straightened, something building up inside her so much that she couldn't contain it.

Leia shot to her feet, and without heed for the rules of the Temple Leia sprinted as fast as she could to find her father. A few Jedi she passed called for her to slow down, or asked if she was alright, but she didn't answer, didn't slow.

She saw the door to his training room coming up, and without stopping to think, Leia used the Force to open it, plunging through with a loud cry.

" _He's alive, HE'S ALIVE!_ "

Anakin and Obi Wan both stumbled in utter surprise at her sudden, glaring entrance, and Obi Wan very nearly lost a body part when Anakin's lightsaber went off-course as a result. With a loud curse, Anakin shut off his blade just as Obi Wan leapt away at the last second, and the two Jedi stood breathing heavily for a second at the close call.

Anakin turned to his daughter, upset. "Leia, what's going on? Why didn't you knock first? I nearly took Obi Wan's arm off!"

Leia hesitated at that, but she repeated her words. "Dad... _he's alive!_ "

Anakin stared, and when Obi Wan came even with his friend, the two Jedi shared a look. Returning his gaze to his obviously overworked child, Anakin asked what was on both his and Obi Wan's mind.

"Who is alive?"

Leia was too worked up to be annoyed by the question. "Luke! _Luke_ is alive!"

Anakin's face went slack, and Obi Wan placed a supporting hand to his shoulder. Her father turned his head away, and Leia stepped forward, trying to take his hand.

"I felt him! Dad, Luke is alive!"

But Anakin pulled away, and as he turned completely from his daughter, Obi Wan spoke. "That is enough, Leia."

"But..." Leia protested, stung by her father's reaction.

"Enough!" Obi Wan commanded sharply, silencing the girl, who was now red in the face. "It's not a crime to have dreams, but for you to claim that your brother is alive when he is not... is going too far. You've gone beyond what's acceptable now, Leia. Can't you see how this is hurting Anakin?"

Leia glared at him. "I'm not making this up!" She yelled.

" _Leia!_ " Anakin barked, and his tone— something he had never used on her before— stopped the girl in her tracks. He slowly turned around, and Leia was taken aback by the angry tears streaming down his face.

Father and Daughter held each other's gazes for long, terse seconds before Leia finally looked away.

Anakin heaved a sigh and approached her. "Leia, if Luke was alive, we would all feel him. I would know if my son was still alive, trust me."

Leia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, but she had to speak. "But what if you're wrong?"

Anakin didn't want to admit just how much that one sentence hurt him, but it was like having a knife stabbed into his heart and then twisted about. "Why wouldn't _I_ feel him and you did?" Anakin asked instead of answering directly.

"I... I don't know," Leia admitted. "You're his father, but... but I'm his twin. I felt him in our connection!"

Anakin clenched his teeth. "Do you still feel him?"

"N-no, it wasn't for very long, and then it cut off." Leia shuffled her feet, not meeting his eyes. "It wasn't a very strong connection, but..."

"Leia," Anakin tipped her head up, using all his self control to remain as calm and loving as he could. "I love you, and I am sorry for yelling before... but this obsession with Luke has to stop! You cannot keep doing this. I can't tell you to stop dreaming at night, that's nothing you can control. But you _can_ control what happens and what you say during the day. You have every right to mourn, but it's not fair to your mother or me for you to make such claims as the one you just did."

Leia back-stepped, mouth agape. "You... you don't believe me."

Anakin's throat closed at the expression on her face. "I'm sorry... I can't. He's gone, and I..."

"I am not making this up!" Leia hollered, starting to cry. "Why would I make something like this up?! I didn't want to tell you about my _dreams_! Why would I create a _story_ like this to hurt you and Mother with?!"

Anakin stood sharply. "Obi Wan is right. That's enough."

Leia stamped her foot furiously. "NO!"

" _Leia, enough!"_ Anakin bellowed, and Leia instantly stopped, though she didn't apologize. She turned around, arms clasped tightly around her as she stomped to the door.

"Fine! I'll shut up!" She snapped back, feeling like Anakin had just kicked her in the stomach. "I'll just wait for you in the speeder."

"No need," Anakin growled. "We are both leaving, right now."

The pair of them walked with several inches between them, and the ride home was tense and uncomfortable, but Leia refused to cry... not in front of her father... at least not now. She was deeply hurt that he didn't believe her, but even so she knew better than to confront her mother with this. Her father confirmed this seconds later.

"Don't you dare say anything of this to Padmé," Anakin warned when they got to the landing pad. "Your mother has had a hard enough time moving on as it is."

Leia only nodded once and leapt from the speeder, running to her room and slamming the door furiously behind her. She locked it and then threw herself onto her bed, sobbing mightily.

 **00000**

Hazael slumped into the chair of his office with a world-weary sigh. He had been careless, and he'd almost lost his hold on the boy. He had forgotten to give the runt his serum, or to make the woman slave give it to the boy.

And that misstep had nearly cost him. He'd seen the signs written plainly on the boy's face when he'd arrived and used the child's fear to his advantage. Hazael had been in a meeting with his board members at the mines when he had remembered the serum upon seeing a death stick of the same color.

Hazael had thus cut short his visit to the mines and made a beeline for home so he could stop the Force from returning to Luke before his family detected his life-force. It had been so close... and Hazael had to believe that it hadn't been enough to give him away.

If it had been, they would hear about it on the news soon anyway.

Hazael ran a hand down his face, reflecting idly on the plastic surgery done there as he touched the remnants of surgical scars. His original face had not only been damaged, but he couldn't remain looking like his former self if he was to exact his revenge on the Skywalkers. He had known that as soon as he'd woken up in his medical room in a thankfully neutral system.

He was presumed dead, especially by Anakin and Padmé, who had watched him disappear from their lives. Or so they thought.

But he had lived... and he had exacted revenge. But now he wanted more, and soon, very soon he would have it. Cheered up by that thought, Hazael poured himself a glass of his favorite spirit and toasted his success.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

 **Coruscant**

Padmé stared in shock as Leia stormed into the house, ignoring everyone as she locked herself angrily inside her room. Ijon, who was playing in the sitting area with a scattering of toys, stared after her in open wonder at his sister's rare show of such temperament. Concerned, Padmé made to follow Leia, her hand poised to knock when she heard Leia sobbing like she'd just lost her best friend.

"Leia?" Padmé called through the door, worried.

There was no answer, which only made Padmé more befuddled. A hand to her arm stopped her just before she tried to open the door, even though she knew it was locked from the inside.

"Don't," Anakin said, his manner tense yet trying to be gentle for her sake. "Let her cool down."

Padmé turned agitated eyes onto her husband. "What happened? Is she alright?"

Anakin looked at the door, thinning his lips before he turned around. "No, she isn't: but she will be. She's strong like that."

Padmé frowned at his retreating back before moving to shadow him, though she noted he was making it a point to remain out of Ijon's earshot. "What happened Anakin?"

Her husband sighed. "She got herself into big trouble is all. Please, Padmé, just... not right now."

His voice trembled, and Padmé did a double-take. "Why can't I know why my daughter is crying her eyes out in her locked bedroom?"

Anakin balled a fist. "Padmé please..."

"No!" Padmé snapped. "No secrets! Anakin please just tell me!"

Her husband didn't turn at first, his chest heaving, and Padmé thought he might deny her again. When he turned at last, his face was slick, and his chest worked unsteadily.

"Please don't make me repeat it, Angel." Anakin pled with her, his voice cracking.

Padmé knew she had to tread carefully, and she approached her husband as one would a frightened animal in the hopes of calming it. "Anakin, I hate to see you and Leia suffering and be left in the dark. We are a family, and we've survived this long on the truth. Please don't stop that now."

Anakin let her touch his face, and he leaned into her palm. "I..." he sighed deeply. "Leia raced into my training room crying out that... that Luke was still alive."

Padmé balked. "What?!"

Anakin nodded, having anticipated her reaction. "She claimed to have felt him."

Padmé stared, almost too afraid to ask. "So... why is she so upset... and you for that matter?"

Anakin took his wife's hands. "Padmé, it's been ten years nearly. Ten years, in which I haven't felt one whisper of my child in the Force. And even when Leia claimed she'd felt him, _I_ felt _nothing_. I'm his father, and I have a far deeper connection to the Force than Leia: as much as I love her it's the truth. And she's not fully trained..."

Anakin shook his head. "I don't... I _can't_ believe her."

Padmé closed her eyes. "There isn't some way she being Luke's twin would make any difference?"

Anakin hesitated. "You know, she said the same thing. But I don't think so. Padmé, there is no way Luke could just drop off the radar and then randomly pop up all these long years later for only Leia to glimpse for a few seconds and then disappear again without a trace. It's not possible."

Padmé nodded, trying her best to take this all in stride. "What about that Force-blind planet in the Jedi Archives?"

"Myrkr?" Anakin clarified. At her nod, he looked dubious. "Well, if he was there, then the little blip Leia claims to have felt would never have made it through."

At Padmé's lifted brow he groaned, slapping his forehead. "Great, now I'm talking as if she actually felt him."

Padmé touched his elbow. "Anakin, what if we're wrong?"

Anakin shook his head, adamant. "No. She's gone too far this time, Padmé. Dreams she can't help, but this... _claim_ she can. I won't have this anymore. It's time for us all to move on, as much as it kills me to say it. Maybe we should finally just let Luke go. It's been too long. We've been living our lives, yes, but the shadow of the past has constantly been hanging over us like a wet blanket. No more."

Padmé swallowed, and then after a long deliberation, nodded slowly. "I agree."

 **00000**

Leia didn't emerge from her room for the rest of the night and she stayed in her room well into the next day. She hadn't stopped weeping until the early hours of the night. Her sobbing hadn't lasted long, but her tears had continued to fall for quite some time afterwards.

She'd yelled at her father to leave her alone when he'd tried to get her to come out for dinner, and then kindly refused breakfast from her mother when that time came. She hadn't slept much, and the small bouts she'd managed had been fitful to say the least.

Leia had too much on her mind, but there was one major issue that she was having the most trouble with. What if she _had_ been wrong?

That small sliver of doubt had kept her awake, unable to relax as she replayed the event over and over in her mind until she was certain she'd go crazy if she did it one more time. But her heart refused to deny what had occurred.

And at some point in the early morning hours when she had lain awake staring at the ceiling, a small fact had slowly worked its way into her awareness. The presence that had belonged to Luke had, unknowingly, reached back to her as if on base instinct.

She'd been so focused on the emotion of the event that she hadn't turned to the practical side of things until much later. That's when she had realized that Luke had unknowingly touched her back.

Leia wasn't fully trained by any means, but she knew when a presence hadn't touched the Force their whole lives and was suddenly opened to it. How terrifying that must have been for Luke.

Leia sat up when she realized the train of her thoughts at long last. She was thinking and acting as if she believed he was alive. No, she didn't just believe it... Leia _knew_ it. She knew it as surely as she accepted that breathing was critical to life.

Leia looked to her hands, breathing with a growing fervor. She would not just sit back and wallow in any sort of despair or self-pity when her brother was Force-knew where doing who-knew what.

He was alive, though the where was a huge missing piece of the information, and Leia would find him. If it took the rest of her life, Leia would find her brother. She didn't care if she was only ten... she would do everything in her power to get Luke home where he belonged. And if she had to do so alone, then she would.

But it still hurt, deeply, that her father didn't believe her. Anakin thought Leia was pulling his leg, playing a prank just to get attention. She was offended, because she had _never_ done that! Leia wasn't the type to expect people to pity her, and she hated the very idea.

So why would her father deny Leia's Force senses when he had been the one to encourage her to use them?

Leia closed her eyes against fresh tears, and she wiped them away forlornly. She didn't know if she could forgive Anakin for this, even as she tried to understand he was just hurting and afraid to reopen an old wound.

Leia sniffled, got out of bed and shuffled over to her window. She placed a hand, fingers splayed, to the glass and stared into the sky.

"I will find you, Luke... I swear to you... I _will_ find you... and you will be brought home," she whispered to his spirit, sending the thought out to the fabric of the Force.

She stood there for an unknown amount of time before a plan began to formulate in her mind. She wouldn't do Luke any good brooding in her bedroom. She needed to get out and find clues, look at past files, and whatever other information she could.

But first she had to get past her parents. Well, she could do that easily. All she had to do was play the penitent daughter, repentant of her earlier claims, etcetera. After that, Leia would give it a few days for things to settle down, and then she could begin her search for clues. She would use recess and lunch hours during school, and any other free time she could get to hunt down facts and other things.

Leia could use a recycled datapad from Padmé's stash to store information she collected on her search for her twin.

With all of that in mind, Leia straightened.

 _Time to face the day, Leia._ She thought, gathering her things for a shower and preparing to do exactly that.

She had a brother to find.

 **00000**

 **Tatooine**

Several days after his visit to the mines, Hazael sat in his office.

His slave was working on an extra set of chores, having completed his daily deep clean earlier. Hazael had been busy with preparations for their move to Coruscant, so he had sent the slave away to make himself useful.

The child's voice modulator had _finally_ arrived, and Hazael hadn't thought any two weeks could go by so slowly. He was on edge and ready to just leave when the package had at long last come.

Now the boy's costume was ready for him to wear. Hazael couldn't very well have the runt walking around Coruscant in his filthy rags, now could he? Well, at least not _just_ the loincloth...

The rubbish of the Jawa robes couldn't be helped. The creatures were a filthy, vile species, and only useful for the skills Hazael could work them for. Their place was in the mines where he had them right now, nothing more.

Hazael finished working on the voice modulator and set it aside, breathing out a sigh of relief. He could really go for something to relax himself with. Hazael pursed his lips, trying to decide on a form of entertainment.

The boy was working and Hazael wasn't in the mood to harass him yet. That would come with the Jawa suit. Hazael's gaze passed by a painting of an exotic dancer and he smiled wickedly.

Of course. He could go for some nice, relaxing fun with his pleasure slave. Humming already in anticipation, Hazael began unbuttoning his tunic, loosening his belt also as he waltzed purposefully into his bedchambers.

He opened the wench's door and without looking inside called out. "Get out here."

He didn't note the lack of response immediately, so intent was he on getting comfortable. But as he settled into a seated position on the mattress, Hazael frowned when the woman remained absent and silent.

Frowning, Hazael raised his voice just so. "Hey! I _said_ get out here, unless you want to go hungry!"

He'd taken to having her food shoved into her room by a slot he'd had installed so he didn't have to look at her if he didn't want to. Hazael hadn't seen his slave girl since before his mine visit, and he wondered if maybe she was sick or something.

Grumbling, Hazael mused that it would be just his luck to have _another_ sick slave...

He'd stood and walked to her door, and as his eyes lay on the empty space, Hazael's train of thought ceased.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes and looked again to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But no— anger began to rise in him— she was gone. Hazael blew out an incensed breath of air through his nose and thought fast.

There was no way she could have opened the door herself. And _Hazael_ certainly hadn't set the woman free. He hadn't had a droid servant since the boy had grown old enough to work... so that meant...

" _BOY!_ "

His thundering roar preceded him through the walls of the house, and when he heard the clatter of something he zeroed in on it. He stormed through the halls until he came upon his slave, who was cleaning the collection of awards Hazael had won in the last years.

The boy's eyes were wide and he trembled as Hazael approached, though Hazael could see the boy had no idea why his master was mad this time. Well, he was about to find out.

He grabbed the boy by the hair and hauled him up to eye level, ignoring his cries of pain. "DID YOU SET THAT WOMAN FREE?!"

The boy froze, and Hazael needed no further proof. He hollered in outrage and slammed a meaty fist into the boy's face, followed immediately by a sucker-punch to his gut a few times. He then lowered the child to the ground enough so his feet touched, and then he dragged the struggling, weakened child through the house, Hazael's mind working overtime with how to adequately punish the worthless boy for this.

It wasn't until he passed the dining room that an idea hit him. Hazael liked it, perhaps too much, but he grasped at it without hesitation. He angled for the kitchen and threw the boy into the cooling unit, hearing him cry out as his increasingly frail body collided with the heavy object.

"From this point on you don't eat unless I say." Hazael grinned evilly as the child's head whipped upwards, his gaze wet and desperate. "Oh yes. Oh, and you will also clean this fridge— _now_ — and every day you will make my meals and then watch me eat them. If you so much as sneak a single shred of cheese, there will be hell to pay, do I make myself clear?"

The boy was trying his hardest not to cry, but he didn't answer fast enough for Hazael. He struck the slave across the face again. "I _said_ do you understand?!"

Finally the boy nodded once, his face now wet with both tears and a few dribbles of blood.

"Good. Get to work. Once you finish the fridge, make me something to eat. I expect to have a meal in an hour and a half." Hazael exited the room, still worked up over the incident.

The boy would wear the Jawa rags the rest of his miserable life. He would remain unseen for the rest of his days: Hazael didn't want to look at the filth again, unless he deserved a beating.

Hazael would add nutrients to the serum he gave the child to keep him alive. He was well aware that though it would keep the runt alive, it wouldn't help his hunger any.

 _Serves him right, the idiot..._ Hazael fumed. _No one sets my slaves free except me_.

 **00000**

 **Public transport, somewhere in hyperspace**

Dolara Laa stood before the small mirror in her tiny cabin, eyeing her strawberry blonde hair. It was slowly starting to lose its thin, almost ratty appearance. She would like to have it straight and sleek some day, as she had seen other women wear theirs.

Green eyes stared back at her as she reflected on the past days. She had managed to find her way to Mos Eisley and paid a smuggler to take her off world. She had then ended up on Rhommamool.

There, she had spent several days trying to lie low until her luck changed. It had been as she was wandering about in search of a safe place to eat that she'd overheard people talking about a public transport preparing to leave that evening. Immediately she had made her way to the spaceport and asked whether or not they had open cabins on the craft.

The answer had been yes, and so she'd paid for passage to wherever it was going, not really paying attention to the destination except for the fact that it was far away from Rhommamool.

Now she was trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. Dolara hadn't expected to be set free, let alone by a fellow slave. And a mere _child_ at that. But her attempts to help the boy on Tatooine had fallen upon deaf ears.

No one on that dust ball cared about slaves; and if they did, it was people in no position to help. So she was trying to make her way to the Core worlds, searching for someone to hear her tale and hopefully help her free the poor boy as well.

She hadn't even known he was around, though she blamed that on her lack of time outside her slave quarters. Dolara was determined to do right by the boy who had freed her.

She had realized at some point in her travels that she'd never learned his name. But Dolara _did_ have a description, and for now that would do.

Now she just had to get to Coruscant.

Where she'd go from there, she hadn't a clue.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

Luke had thought that he had learned to live with hunger, and indeed he'd done a pretty good job of it so far in his short, miserable life. But nothing could have prepared him for full-out starvation— coupled with the complete and utter lack of food allowed to him— past experience or not. Luke's stomach not only gurgled and rumbled its displeasure at not being fed at all for the last three days, but it was cramping almost constantly now. Painfully so.

Hazael hadn't been kidding when he'd told Luke he wasn't allowed to eat: out of desperation Luke had tried to sneak a tiny morsel of bread, and had been reprimanded severely for it. Luke still felt the sting of the rather fresh lashing wounds to prove it whenever he shifted his back muscles.

So, despite his absolute hunger, Luke was too afraid of Hazael to attempt disobeying him again. And yet, Luke wondered how it was he was still alive if he wasn't eating. Hazael must have been giving him something along with the serum he administered every day: probably a dose of nutrients meant to keep Luke alive and nothing more.

Luke did his best to keep up with the chores, but his lack of physical nutrition was starting to take its toll on him. His body was simply shutting down, tiny bit by tiny bit... and Luke was powerless to stop the slow, steady decline.

He simply tried to make the best of things, which wasn't saying much: he still had to clean, regardless of how much energy he had.

It was as Luke was preparing Hazael's lunch that his master appeared in the kitchen, a bundle of something in his arms that he threw at Luke.

"Put these on." Hazael ordered without preamble. "Now."

Luke dropped his spoon and started to leave to change as ordered when Hazael's cold voice stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Luke frowned, turning to look at his master in confusion.

"I said change; I never said leave to do it." Hazael growled. "Strip down and change. Now."

Luke's cheeks flushed, but he didn't dare argue or hesitate more than he already had. Slowly, Luke unraveled the item he'd been given, surprised to find an odd assortment of rags and equipment there. He stared for a few seconds, confused as to what went where, and decided to start with the robe, the only thing he recognized. Donning the ratty, smelly thing, Luke instantly hated the coarse, itchy material. It was rather heavy too, and it was too large for him, trailing along the floor a little and draping off his fingertips by at least four inches.

He the child picked up a black... _thing_ and looked to his master for guidance. When Hazael lifted a brow, Luke bit his lip.

Finally his master snatched it from Luke's grasp and roughly threw it over Luke's head and face. Luke balked at the maneuver, but was held fast by Hazael, who situated the cloth to fit over his face. Disoriented, Luke lifted his hands instinctively to try and clear away the cloth, but his hands were violently slapped away. Luke had to force himself not to fight against Hazael any further, but his nerves were crawling despite all that.

When the black cloth was situated at last, Luke was momentarily relieved to find two eye holes had been cut into the fabric... a feeling that died away as a pair of yellow goggles was place over his eyes.

Luke didn't like how tightly they were cinched to his skull, and he felt his head ache from the pressure. He blinked several times as everything in his world became some shade of yellow, and he was already feeling overly warm in his new attire.

Hazael instructed Luke in putting on some sort of cloth footwear, and once they were in place, Luke's master stepped up with some sort of belt. "Now for a few finishing touches."

Hazael cinched a rope around Luke's waist, pulling it tight, and Luke whimpered in discomfort, something that earned him a slap to the cheek. "Quit whining."

Luke fell obediently silent and allowed Hazael to also put a shoulder strap into place, one held on by a pin that scratched Luke's skin several times before Hazael got it situated for Luke.

At long last the man stepped back to admire Luke in his new get-up and then nodded in satisfaction. He produced a handheld mirror, turning it to allow Luke to see. Luke blinked to see a Jawa looking back at him.

"You will never again see the light of day through your own eyes. Your skin will never feel the sunlight again, and you will never be known as human again." Hazael informed Luke. "You will wear this until the day your miserable excuse for a life expires, and then you will be buried in it. Take any of this off and you will be beaten."

Hazael straightened. "You will be joining me on Coruscant, and your name will be Tibni to everyone there. You will remain silent unless asked a direct question by me, and when you speak, there is a voice modulator that will make you sound like a Jawa."

Luke only stared, unable to muster the strength to be offended by all this. All he could do was cry in silence and hope his master didn't notice.

"Come Tibni, Coruscant awaits us." Hazael stated, turning and expecting Luke to follow; which the child did with a heavy footfall.

 **00000**

A small robed figure made its way along the walkways of the legal district, the steps purposeful and sure. Just like before, no one paid the figure any heed as it could have been a small alien, not a human girl.

Leia smirked to herself at the thought of the occasion where her stature was finally useful for something. Usually she hated being so short: the smallest in class, not tall enough to reach certain things at home, not big enough to sit here or there... the list seemed to go on some days.

Shaking her head to clear it, Leia checked her chrono and noted the time she had remaining. She had left school the moment the lunch hour had begun, slipping out the same way she knew many kids did to ditch class via the second floor's utility room window.

She had forty minutes left of her hour to get back before she was marked absent. Leia looked up and saw the front of the building she was aiming for. Grasping the datapad she'd rigged up— one recycled from her mother's disregarded reports— Leia tried not to feel guilty.

Leia had tricked her mother into signing what Padmé thought was a school-related paper. In reality it was a consent form to release all pertinent records to Leia's datapad. Leia told herself that it was for the greater good, but if Padmé found out, Leia would be in huge trouble.

Leia shoved away her guilt, fully convinced that it was her parents' fault if they got hurt. They were the ones who'd chosen not to believe in their only daughter; one who had never _once_ made such a claim. They knew Leia would never lie about something of the magnitude Luke was on, but still they'd dismissed her.

Leia's feet carried her inside the building at last and she went straight to the turbolift, having already figured out where she needed to go the day before. Once on the fifth level, Leia exited and made her way to the reception desk, clearing her throat softly.

"Good afternoon," Leia pitched her voice to sound older.

The dark-furred Trianii woman behind the desk glanced up at her and then straightened; setting aside the holozine she'd been reading. "Hello. May I help you?"

Leia nodded, pulling out her datapad. "I am here to collect a set of files please." She slid the item across the desk. "Here is all the necessary paperwork."

The woman took the offered datapad and read it over, nodding after a few seconds. "Very well, please have a seat while I find the files and start the transfer. It will take a few moments to download."

"That's fine, thank you." Leia took the offered seat patiently, though she hoped the process didn't take _too_ long, since she was on the clock.

 **00000**

Luke had never been on a ship before, but even so, he was too worked up about his stupid Jawa outfit to care that his stomach was doing knots. He also failed to recognize that the ship, instead of climbing for atmosphere, was travelling at ground level.

Luke hated his robes: they were heavy, stifling and itchy. His goggles were far too tight, and his belt and shoulder strap were rubbing his skin raw even through the heavy robes. Luke was also hungry, and he wondered if Hazael would start to punish him for the constant growling of his stomach on top of everything else.

It wasn't until the ship shuddered and stopped that Luke paid attention to his surroundings a bit more. Hazael appeared and before Luke could react placed a leash onto his collar. Luke was for once glad of the face-cover, because it hid his scowl and deep blush of shame.

Hazael still seemed to sense his slave's embarrassment, however, because he grinned nastily, tugging sharply on the leash to get Luke to walk behind him. Luke had no choice but to follow.

Hazael walked to some sort of cave entrance, and Luke wondered where they were. They were still on Tatooine, judging by the terrain and intense heat. It wasn't until they entered through a hidden doorway that Luke realized where they'd come.

This had to be Hazael's secret mines and drug manufacturing base, and it was buried deep below the surface of the planet to avoid detection. Luke stumbled as Hazael led him into a darker hallway, and as they moved deeper and deeper into the base, Luke began to hear the clinking of metal on rock.

It wasn't much longer before they entered a cross-corridor that was lined on each side by Jawas. Luke saw the crude mining tools they wielded, and the fact that even through their robes they were malnourished like himself. They were all filthy, all silent, and they seemed to be in a constant state of gloom.

Many of the Jawas actually paused in their work to see what they thought was one of their own... chained like some pet to Hazael. Luke tried not to meet anyone's gaze, and he did his best to keep up with his master.

Just as they left the corridor, a whip sounded and the Jawas shrieked before the mining resumed. Luke winced in sympathy, but remained silent as was expected. He did happen to hear the cries of Sand People down one dark corridor, followed by the crashing sound of something being thrown into an object at great force.

Swallowing at the sense of utter despair and fear that he could sense without any special powers, Luke realized for the first time that he had it easy. He'd thought _he_ was in misery living the way he was... at least Luke got to see the sun and he didn't have the threat of his family's safety hanging over his malnourished head if he disobeyed too much.

Finally Hazael entered an office, and Luke was disgusted to see it was as posh as a presidential suite in some fancy hotel. There was a plush sofa and two fancy armchairs adjacent to that, with a shag rug in between. A polished wooden desk sat in another corner, a high-end chair behind it, and there were columns at intervals around the room with what Luke assumed were priceless artifacts upon them.

A fist to his face surprised Luke and he was brought back to the present by his master's sharp reprimand. "Quit gawking, Worthless! We're only here for a few files and then we go on to Coruscant."

Luke obediently straightened, knowing that he was fully expected to keep his opinion to himself.

Hazael took his time in rummaging through the datapads on his desk, and Luke tried not to fidget, knowing he'd be punished again if he distracted Hazael. Luke spent his time instead wishing he could help his fellow slaves somehow.

But unless he ever got free himself— something that would never happen— Luke was powerless to do anything. All he could do was hope the Jawa and Tusken Raiders made it out alive.

"Time to go, Runt." Hazael jerked Luke's leash and Luke hissed as his neck muscles protested. Hazael bore a sealed case in one hand and a handful of datapads and chips in a pouch hanging from the same arm.

Soon after they left the office the duo were back on the ship and pulling for space.

 **00000**

"Here you go," the Trianii woman told Leia, waving her over.

Leia smiled openly and bowed her head after she'd approached the desk. "Thank you."

She accepted the datapad and made her way back to the turbolift. Only when the doors closed and the lift was descending did Leia relax.

She glanced at her chrono and saw that she still had time to get back and not be missed. With a stirring of new hope, Leia hid her datapad in the inner pocket of her backpack and returned to school.

She never noticed a pair of hazel eyes observing her from a distance with open curiosity.


	11. Chapter 10

**(A/N:** _This is a slightly revised version (one sentence) cause one reader pointed out that I forgot an important detail about the Skywalker family in my last version. Thank you for the catch, and I apologize for any confusion. It's now fixed._ **)**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten:**

Leia sat in her room, hunkered into her pillows while she propped her acquired datapad on bended knees. She had been reading for hours, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by her parents. However, when asked, Leia simply informed them half-truthfully that she was reading both for learning and pleasure.

She had reluctantly set aside her files for dinner, but as soon as she'd been excused Leia had returned to her readings with earnest, not noticing the passage of time. There was a lot of information in the files Leia had never known about.

Such as the fact that Luke had apparently died of ruptured blood vessels in his brain, which had caused the baby boy to swiftly bleed to death.

But something didn't fit: Luke had been in perfect health before that night... and had shown absolutely no signs of trouble. Leia didn't know much about brain ruptures, but she wondered if it really was so... sudden.

Still, Leia didn't like the facts. For her, they didn't add up. Mostly, though, because she knew for a fact she had felt Luke recently. And if he was truly dead, then that wouldn't have happened.

So then what was she missing?

Leia sighed tiredly and finished her last paragraph before shutting down the 'pad and admitting that she needed sleep. She still had to live her life, and if she didn't take care of herself, she'd become too tired and start overlooking things.

Things that could be essential to her investigation.

Luckily for her, tomorrow was a weekend day, so Leia could sleep in; something she wanted very much.

A knock at her door alerted Leia to the arrival of... Anakin, she felt in the Force. Leia hid her datapad carefully and then spoke.

"Come in."

Her father did enter and he stood almost awkwardly by the door for long seconds. Leia shifted also, looking away. She and Anakin hadn't really talked a lot since their... misunderstanding.

Leia was still hurt by Anakin's refusal to believe his daughter, though the distance between them was starting to become far more painful, and Leia's heart clenched tightly.

"Did you need something?" Leia asked softly, spurring Anakin into action.

He approached and sat sideways on her bed, eyeing her sorrowful manner and sighing softly. "Leia... I know we haven't seen eye to eye lately, but I want us to stop drifting apart."

He touched her face and tenderly lifted Leia's chin, startled by the fresh tears that were now slipping past her defenses. Anakin cursed himself and wiped them away lovingly.

"Princess... I love you dearly. And I am sorry for my actions, but you have to understand Luke's death still hurts. I don't think..." Anakin's throat closed momentarily, "that I'll ever truly move on from it. I think that's why it was so long before your mother and I tried again..."

Anakin looked away. "And when you claimed to have sensed Luke, I couldn't handle it. And I'm sorry, but... can we please just... move on? I need my daughter back."

Leia closed her eyes, still hurting, but the little child in her rose to the surface, and she chose to forgive him enough to not irreparably ruin their relationship. "And I need my Dad back."

Anakin drew her to his chest, and Leia wept freely into it while he stroked her hair tenderly. "I love you, Leia. Always. You're my little girl, and I am so proud of how strong you are."

Leia clung to him tighter, and they wept together for a time. Once they had finished, Anakin pulled back and kissed her head.

"Your mother has to go to the spaceport tomorrow morning to welcome a new diplomat from Tatooine," he told her. "Would you like to go with me to that area and maybe do some shopping? Just you and I?"

Leia brightened visibly at that and nodded, forgetting her previous desire to sleep in. She could always opt for a nap. "I would love to."

Anakin smiled warmly and hugged her. "Then it's a date. Now, get some sleep." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy," Leia whispered, settling down and allowing him to tuck her in despite her age.

He smiled again and left, turning out the lights as he closed her door.

 **00000**

Despite his uncomfortable gear, and the ache in his stomach he was learning out of necessity to ignore, Luke couldn't take his eyes off of the viewport next to his seat as the ship first arrived above and then descended into Coruscant's atmosphere.

He had never seen so many buildings, ships, speeders and lights in one place! He'd never know so many could even _exist_ in one spot at the same time. Luke was awe-struck... until his master intervened.

Hazael actually leaned over and smiled genuinely. "I'd almost forgotten how beautiful Coruscant is. Especially from space. But don't let its grandeur fool you: it's a place for the elite and the upper echelons of society... at least where the sun shines. The rest... well, they'll sooner tear you apart than try to help you. You go any lower than the first few levels and the people turn into the vermin they are."

Having nothing else to go off of, Luke had no choice but to believe the man, and as reality hit him the worry began to gnaw at the child. He looked out the window with a new eye, taking in all the hundreds of opportunities for trouble.

Suddenly he missed the solitude of Tatooine.

Luke also began to shiver, though really it hadn't stopped since they had left Tatooine's heated climate. Luke had been cold from the moment they'd entered space. He truly hoped the surface of Coruscant was warmer than it looked.

The ship flew by many buildings on its way to a landing pad, and Luke tried and failed to read the written signage as they flew past. He had no education outside of what he needed to know for his job, which wasn't much.

He knew the labels of the cleaners only because Hazael didn't want the wrong ones being used on something.

Luke looked away from the sight when Hazael stood at the craft's final stopping point, the ship shuddering gently as it touched down. "Come Tibni."

Luke swallowed nervously and stood to follow, keeping unusually close to Hazael out of fear of being separated and lost. And Luke knew if he got lost, it would likely be forever. And while he'd love to get away from the man, he didn't think he'd survive on his own here.

Before the ramp lowered, however, Hazael returned to Luke with a syringe loaded with the same substance Luke was given once a day. Luke frowned behind his robes, befuddled. He'd already been given his dose for the day.

"Despite what my medical friend says about this being dangerous for you, you will get two doses a day while we are on Coruscant. I'm not taking _any_ chances. There is a part in your head-wrap and hood. Open it."

Luke blinked, and when he hesitated to long, Hazael grabbed him violently by the collar. "NOW!"

Luke nodded shakily, obeying... and feeling the impatient prick of the needle to his artery yet again. Luke hissed as the serum entered his bloodstream again, and Hazael took great pleasure in it.

"One bright side and a... _gift_ of two doses... is that you get two measures of daily nutrients now." Hazael informed Luke as he waited for the serum to have a chance to start working. "That will be helpful since you are banned from food, don't you think?"

Luke had to admit the man had a point, and so he dipped his head in silent submissiveness.

With a smug expression, the man disposed of the syringe and Luke replaced his coverings as expected.

He was unaware that Hazael had slight misgivings despite his outward claims. His medic had warned Hazael that more than one dose a day to Luke's already precarious body would likely be dangerous and eventually fatal.

But Hazael was certain that was a long-term effect. They'd be back on Tatooine before the runt keeled over.

Hazael straightened his robes silently, and then nudged Luke to stand taller. Luke did so as much as he was able, though he couldn't help but slip behind Hazael a bit more as the ramp lowered.

The wave of sound that wafted up the ramp hit Luke like a tsunami, unsettling the child enough to where he paused for too long. Thus he received a sharp blow to the back of his head from one of the lackeys that Hazael had brought along.

Luke shook his head to clear it and scrambled after his master, who was bowing low to a woman in flowing blue robes and an intricate hairdo. Luke paid the woman little attention as his gaze was drawn inexplicably by thing after thing, and the boy was swiftly becoming overwhelmed.

This continued when the group finished its original pleasantries and they began leaving the private berth Hazael's ship had docked in. Then the woman looked to the Jawa curiously.

"Who is this?" she asked.

Hazael placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, but the youth didn't notice, his nerves frayed from the constant noise and sights, and even the smells that made it through his head-wrap.

"This is the first Jawa to willingly come of that dust ball," Hazael answered the woman. "May I present Tibni. He's... an ambassador for his people, on a trip to see what else the galaxy has to offer, and then he will return when I do to report it to his people."

The woman was clearly surprised, but a crash from the left made Luke jump, and he flinched away from the raised voices of the persons involved in the luggage-tram collision. Luke shook his head, which was starting to hurt fiercely from it all, and he subconsciously began backing away from the confrontation.

He didn't hear the woman or Hazael tell him to stop, and he ended up backing into a multitude of people coming off of a public transport. Luke cried out in alarm when he was instantly swept away by the masses, his little body being buffeted to-and-fro.

Luke was almost instantly disoriented, and he had no choice but to follow the crowd, which drove him onward and away from the terminal. He found himself outside and then the throng finally began to disperse, but Luke froze in place, petrified.

That is, until a lumbering alien that was scarier than anything Luke had ever encountered approached and barreled into him. It chattered angrily at Luke, who shrieked and ran away blindly, ending up once more being cajoled and moved about by the throngs of pedestrians.

 _Help!_ Luke thought desperately.

 **00000**

Leia was thoroughly enjoying the time with her father, not caring so much that she'd only purchased a new dress and shoes even though they had been to several stores already. She couldn't have asked for a better start to the weekend, and Leia beamed up at Anakin as they left their latest shop.

"Thanks for my new outfit, Dad!" she said blissfully.

Anakin chuckled softly. "I'm just glad you didn't take after your mother today," he winked conspiratorially, "but don't tell her I said that."

Leia snickered. "Deal."

Her stomach gurgled then and she blushed as Anakin grinned. "I guess it's time for lunch then, huh?"

Leia eyed the various establishments. "I am pretty hungry... I..."

Leia's train of thought came to a halt when she laid eyes upon a most peculiar sight. Anakin was talking to her, but Leia didn't really hear, her eyes tracking something instead.

Finally Leia touched Anakin's hand. "Ah, Dad... am I seeing things or is there a Jawa over there?"

Anakin gave her an odd look, but followed Leia's pointed finger. His mouth comically dropped open and Leia had to stifle a laugh.

"What in space?" Anakin muttered, watching as the small creature was shifted helplessly around in the people all over the walkways, and it was clear the being was in distress, judging from his body language.

Leia felt her heart go out to the Jawa when it was shoved none-too-kindly to the ground and then trampled as he tried to get back up. Unable to just watch, Leia started over, intent on helping him.

How she knew it was a _he_ Leia didn't know, but she didn't want to say 'it' either.

"Leia, wait for me." Anakin caught up and walked with her. "I wonder how a Jawa got here..."

"I don't know, but look at him!" Leia cried as the poor being continued to flail and fall.

The duo reached the Jawa just as he rose once more and stumbled backwards when a pair of Weequays brushed past him as if he weren't even there. The Jawa started to fall... and then Anakin was there, catching him.

"Whoa there little guy!"

The poor little creature was so relieved and tired that it simply remained in Anakin's grasp for a time. The Jedi could feel the body trembling, could sense his fear and watched the small being's chest heave as if the Jawa had just run across the Dune Sea on foot.

Then, as if coming to his senses, the Jawa leapt and spun around, looking up... and up... and then freezing completely. Leia frowned at the odd behavior, sensing the sudden flash of distrust and anger.

Anakin no doubt sensed it as well, for he lifted his hands. "Easy there, we're not going to hurt you. Where did you come from anyway?"

"Anakin!"

Leia and Anakin both looked up to see a harried Padmé hurrying toward them, a man at her side that looked equal parts angry and relieved.

"Oh you found him!" Padmé panted, stopping to catch her breath. "This is Tibni... he came with this gentleman." She gestured to the man, who was schooling his features into a controlled mask.

"Forgive the Jawa, Master Skywalker," the man gushed. "It's Tibni's first time off of Tatooine. Obviously he hasn't adjusted to Coruscant yet."

Anakin lifted a brow. "Why would you bring a Jawa here?"

"Anakin!" Padmé reprimanded sharply, and the Jedi caught his blunder, cursing silently.

"Forgive me, Sir, I didn't mean that to be rude, I was only curious." Anakin explained.

"No, it's quite alright. I assure you I was prepared for just such a reaction." The man extended a gloved hand. "Hazael Kedar is the name. See, I run a respectable business on Tatooine, and part of my mission is to try and bring more understanding to the planet's native species, which I believe are treated poorly only because they aren't understood. I hope to help change that."

Anakin frowned somewhat, but took the proffered limb. As he did so, something in the Force stirred, and Anakin tried not to show it for Padmé's sake. "That's... unexpected, but fresh." He glanced at the Jawa, who had backed up to Hazael as if afraid of the Jedi. "So Tibni is the first Jawa to venture forth, then right?"

"Ah, very astute," Hazael allowed, grinning. "Yes, he is. And I apologize, but I really feel I should get him off the streets. I need to let him calm down, you see."

"Of course. Take our speeder, please," Padmé said pleasantly, indicating the vehicle now approaching.

As for Leia, for some reason she couldn't explain she was unable to take her eyes off the Jawa. There was... something about him that she couldn't out a finger on...

"Come Leia." Padmé took Leia's hand and the girl glanced her way, then back at the Jawa, who shifted his head toward her in turn. There was a clear current of mistrust there and it shocked Leia, though before she could dwell on it, the two visitors were gone.

"Leia?" Padmé asked, worried by Leia's behavior as she simply watched the speeder take off.

Leia came-to and blushed when she saw both parents gazing at her in concern. "Sorry, I just spaced out. I'm ready to go now."

 **00000**

Luke shook where he sat, fully aware now that the crisis of him getting lost was over, and they were alone— or would be once they arrived at Hazael's Coruscant living quarters— that he was in deep, _deep_ trouble.

He didn't know what all Hazael would do, but he was petrified to be behind a locked door with the man... who Luke could tell was furious. He'd lived with the man all his remembered life... Luke had learned to read Hazael very well.

So the trip to the new house was one filled with tension between master and slave, with Luke barely managing not to quake out of his seat completely and give anything away to the driver.

As the speeder pulled up to the balcony, the driver turned. "Here you go Mr. Kedar. Do you need help with any luggage?"

Hazael gave the man an endearing smile and a generous tip. "Actually no, thank you. Our baggage should have already been brought inside."

"Alright then, have a good day sir, and thank you for the tip." The driver tipped his hat and drove away once Hazael and Luke were off.

Luke's fear increased the closer they drew to the doorway, and he was fairly certain he would create his own little earthquake by the time the door clicked shut behind him. His entire frame quivered and he stood silently, waiting in tortured anticipation of whatever punishment he would receive.

There were several terrifying moments of silence during which Luke didn't dare move or peek behind him. All he could do was wait... and wait.

Finally Hazael reacted, and Luke cried out when he was picked up easily by Hazael and thrown across the room to collide with a banister. Luke landed in a tangled heap and tried in vain to rise even as Hazael thundered down upon him like an enraged ronto.

"You will pay for that little stunt of yours! _How dare you embarrass me like you did?!_ " Hazael roared furiously, and Luke was powerless but to endure a brutal beating. By the time Hazael called it quits, the child was unable to move at all, and Hazael had to drag him by one foot.

"Your new quarters are improved from the last. You actually get a window... into my room," Hazael was saying, and he threw Luke into a room that was just as barren and unfriendly as his Tatooine cell had been.

Luke barely noted the window in question, swiftly losing consciousness as Hazael continued to gloat about some woman with brown hair...

...the last thing he remembered was the door closing.

* * *

( **A/N** : _I'm sorry for the long wait, but here is another chapter. Thank you to those still with me here. God bless!_ )


End file.
